Table of ContentsTable of ContentsForced Perspective: Caged BirdForced Perspective: Ship in a BottleForced Perspective: Flowers in Three VasesForced Perspective: Capturing a ThiefForced Perspective: Long-Eared BunnyForced Perspective: Catching a Big FishForced Perspective: Light up the Bridge LampsForced Perspective: Flying BuntingsForced Perspective: Thuddy SnowmanForced Perspective: Happy BearForced Perspective: Empty FlowerpotForced Perspective: Burning with AngerForced Perspective: Catching a WaterfallThere are many different types of puzzle quests in Infinity Nikki, such as the Kindled Inspiration or the Risky Photography quests. One of the tougher types of quests to complete are the Forced Perspective quests that require you to take photos in specific perspectives to illicit an illusion of sorts.Recommended VideosDifficultyModerateDuration1 hourYou will come across a myriad of Forced Perspective quests around the open world of this gacha dress-up game. If you're stuck figuring out how to take the right photo for the Infinity Nikki Forced Perspective quests, here's some guidance on what your photos should look like.InFold GamesTalk to Ginona by the bridge in Florawish. She is standing on the deck of her house, and will ask you to take a photo of a caged bird for her.The bird cage is right behind Ginona, alongside the bird that you're meant to pretend is in the cage with this perspective.InFold GamesInFold GamesToscani is south of the Mayor's Residence Warp Spire and looking out over the water. He wants a photo of a ship in a bottle.This one is tricky, but make sure to zoom in enough for the photo to accept the ship inside of the bottle.InFold GamesInFold GamesToscani will now be by the house north of the Mayor's Residence Warp Spire. He's looking for a photo of three vases with flowers.Get right in front of the three blue vases in front of the house and make it look like the middle one has white flowers in it.InFold GamesInFold GamesTalk to Toran, who is near the statue outside of the Mayor's Residence. He wants a photo of what looks to be a captured thief.Just behind Toran is a house with an iron fence. Find the part with the thief painted on the walls, and take a picture with the iron bars in front of the thief.InFold GamesInFold GamesQiara is at the Leisurely Anglers Florawish Branch and is looking for a photo of a long-eared bunny.Use the hanging life ring as the bunny's body, and the two oars behind it as the bunny ears for this photo.InFold GamesInFold GamesViliak is at Meadow Wharf and wants you to take a photo of you catching a big fish.Hop onto the small boat on the water to get the right angle for this photo. Have the hook in front of the drawing of the fish.InFold GamesInFold GamesMeet Tristan at night in front of the Breezy Meadow bridge. He's looking for a photo showing the bridge's lamps lit up.Run backward far enough so you can use the lamp post in your photo. Make the lamp's light parallel with the hanging bridge light.InFold GamesInFold GamesJust southwest of the Lavenfringe Fields Warp Spire in Stoneville is Rico. He wants a photo of two scarecrows pulling the bunting.Take a picture of the red and blue scarecrow with the bunting in between and behind them.InFold GamesInFold GamesTalk to Sunkissed Stella in the Abandoned District on Windrider Mill. She wants a photo of a snowman.Nearby are two pumpkins that when photographed together look like the head and body of a snowman.InFold GamesInFold GamesTalk to Playful Pollie in the Handsome Lads Circus maze in the Abandoned District. She wants a photo of a bear holding balloons.Take the photo of the hay bale bear near the entrance to the maze with balloons in its paw.InFold GamesInFold GamesFind Sopuda by the river northeast of the Wishcraft Lab in the Wishing Woods. She wants a photo of a flower pot with flowers.Put the flower bush that's growing on the ground in front of the empty flower pot.InFold GamesInFold GamesTalk to Turaida in the Grand Tree Residential Area in the Wishing Woods. He wants a photo of himself burning with anger.Get in perspective so that the blue flame drawing is right behind Turaida's head.InFold GamesInFold GamesFind Titibo in the northern part of the Wishing Woods south of the Workshop Waterwheel Warp Spire. He wants a photo of a barrel catching a waterfall.Zoom into the small barrel and make it look like the waterfall to the west is falling into it.InFold GamesEditors Recommendations

Troubleshooting only gets easier HDMI 2.2 will require new Ultra96 cables, whenever we have 8K TVs and content The physical connector is, confusingly but expectedly, the same. Kevin Purdy Jan 6, 2025 12:27 pm | 17 The HDMI Forum's guidance on how cable markers might properly identify their future HDMI 2.2 cables, including QR-code-based certification of authentic Ultra96 cables. Credit: HDMI Forum The HDMI Forum's guidance on how cable markers might properly identify their future HDMI 2.2 cables, including QR-code-based certification of authentic Ultra96 cables. Credit: HDMI Forum Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWe've all had a good seven years to figure out why our interconnected devices refused to work properly with the HDMI 2.1 specification. The HDMI Forum announced at CES today that it's time to start considering new headaches. HDMI 2.2 will require new cables for full compatibility, but it has the same physical connectors. Tiny QR codes are suggested to help with that, however.The new specification is named HDMI 2.2, but compatible cables will carry an "Ultra96" marker to indicate that they can carry 96GBps, double the 48 of HDMI 2.1b. The Forum anticipates this will result in higher resolutions and refresh rates and a "next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link." The Forum cited "AR/VR/MR, spatial reality, and light field displays" as benefiting from increased bandwidth, along with medical imaging and machine vision. Examples of how HDMI 2.2's synchronization abilities will benefit home theaters. Examples of how HDMI 2.2's synchronization abilities will benefit home theaters. A visualization of how far HDMI has come in bandwidth, from 1.0 to 2.2. A visualization of how far HDMI has come in bandwidth, from 1.0 to 2.2.Examples of how HDMI 2.2's synchronization abilities will benefit home theaters.A visualization of how far HDMI has come in bandwidth, from 1.0 to 2.2.A bit closer to home, the HDMI 2.2 specification also includes "Latency Indication Protocol" (LIP), which can help improve audio and video synchronization. This should matter most in "multi-hop" systems, such as home theater setups with soundbars or receivers. Illustrations offered by the Forum show LIP working to correct delays on headphones, soundbars connected through ARC or eARC, and mixed systems where some components may be connected to a TV, while others go straight into the receiver.HDMI 2.2 is not a real thing you can buy into yet, as both cable and device manufacturers have not received the full specification yet and need time to build supported components.As to whether you need to buy into HDMI 2.2, that's another issue. You can already get uncompressed 8K, 60HZ video signals with 8-bit color depth or compressed 10K at 120Hz with 12-bit color depth through a top-flight HDMI-2.1b-compliant cable. It's the rare home system that needs more than that right now, let alone one that has any content to actually play at those rates.The Forum, perhaps knowing the deep grief that is trying to buy a "high speed" cable in modern times, wants people to look for an "Ultra96" badge on cable packaging. In addition, one can scan a QR code and see that a cable has been certified and is not counterfeit.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 17 Comments

INTELLIGENT COG IN THE WHEEL Sam Altman says we are now confident we know how to build AGI The race to replace human workers continues in Big Tech, but not everyone is convinced it will happen so soon. Benj Edwards Jan 6, 2025 12:18 pm | 0 Sam Altman speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. Credit: Eugene Gologursky via Getty Images Sam Altman speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. Credit: Eugene Gologursky via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Sunday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered two eye-catching predictions about the near-future of artificial intelligence. In a post titled "Reflections" on his personal blog, Altman wrote, "We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it." He added, "We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents 'join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies."Both statements are notable coming from Altman, who has served as the leader of OpenAI during the rise of mainstream generative AI products such as ChatGPT. AI agents are the latest marketing trend in AI, allowing AI models to take action on a user's behalf. However, critics of the company and Altman immediately took aim at the statements on social media."We are now confident that we can spin bullshit at unprecedented levels, and get away with it," wrotefrequent OpenAI critic Gary Marcus in response to Altman's post. "So we now aspire to aim beyond that, to hype in purest sense of that word. We love our products, but we are here for the glorious next rounds of funding. With infinite funding, we can control the universe."AGI, short for "artificial general intelligence," is a nebulous term that OpenAI typically defines as "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work." Elsewhere in the field, AGI typically means an adaptable AI model that can generalize (apply existing knowledge to novel situations) beyond specific examples found in its training data, similar to how some humans can do almost any kind of work after having been shown few examples of how to do a task.According to a longstanding investment rule at OpenAI, the rights over developed AGI technology are excluded from its IP investment contracts with companies such as Microsoft. In a recently revealed financial agreement between the two companies, the firms clarified that "AGI" will have been achieved at OpenAI when one of its AI models generates at least $100 billion in profits.Tech companies don't say this out loud very often, but AGI would be useful for them because it could replace many human employees with software, automating information jobs and reducing labor costs while also boosting productivity. The potential societal downsides of this could be considerable, and those implications extend far beyond the scope of this article. But the potential economic shock of inventing artificial knowledge workers has not escaped Altman, who has forecast the need for universal basic income as a potential antidote for what he sees coming.Criticism of predictions of impending AGIArtificial workers or not, some people have already been calling "BS" on Altman's optimism. It's nothing new. Marcus, a professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, often serves as a public foil to Altman's pronouncements, a trend that largely began when Marcus appeared before the US Senate in a May 2023 hearing as a skeptical counterpoint to Altman's testimony during the same session.On Sunday, Marcus laid out his most recent criticisms of OpenAI's prediction of achieving AGI soon in a series of posts where he detailed how current language models sometimes fail at basic tasks like math problems, "commonsense reasoning," and maintaining accuracy when faced with novel problems.OpenAI's current "best" released AI model, o1-pro, what you might call a "simulated reasoning" or SR model, reportedly performs well on some mathematical and scientific tasks but still shares weaknesses with OpenAI's GPT-4o large language model, such as failing to generalize well beyond its training data. And it may not be as strong as OpenAI claims in some cases.For example, Marcus cited a recent benchmark conducted by All Hands AI that reportedly shows that OpenAI's o1 model scored only 30 percent on SWE-Bench verified problems (a set of GitHub-based problems), which is below OpenAI's claimed 48.9 percent performance rate, while Anthropic's Claude Sonnet (which is not purported to be an SR model) achieved 53 percent on the same benchmark.Even so, OpenAI claims further progress on its AI model capabilities over time. In December, OpenAI announced o3, its latest SR model that impressed some AI experts by reportedly performing well on very difficult math benchmarks, but it has not yet been released for public examination.Superintelligence as well?Altman's post follows his September prediction that the AI industry may develop superintelligence "in a few thousand days." Superintelligence is an industry term for a hypothetical AI model that could far surpass human intelligence. Former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever founded a company around the pursuit of the technology last year.Altman addressed the topic in his latest post as well."We are beginning to turn our aim beyond [AGI], to superintelligence in the true sense of the word," he wrote. "We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. With superintelligence, we can do anything else. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity."Despite frequent and necessary skepticism from critics, Altman has been responsible for at least one verifiable tech catalyst: the release of ChatGPT, which served as an unexpected tipping point, he says, that brought AI to the masses and launched our current AI-obsessed tech era. Even if OpenAI doesn't get to AGI as soon as Altman thinks, there's no doubt that OpenAI has taken the technology to unexpected places and spurred wide-ranging research on AI models in the tech industry."We started OpenAI almost nine years ago because we believed that AGI was possible and that it could be the most impactful technology in human history," he reflected in his post. "At the time, very few people cared, and if they did, it was mostly because they thought we had no chance of success."Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 0 Comments

Full Nelson Outgoing NASA administrator urges incoming leaders to stick with Artemis plan "I was almost intrigued why they would do it a few days before me being sworn in." Eric Berger Jan 6, 2025 12:02 pm | 2 Administrator Bill Nelson will have the final say on how Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann Administrator Bill Nelson will have the final say on how Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAfter a long career as a politician from Florida, former astronaut Bill Nelson has served as NASA's administrator for the last three and a half years. He intends to resign from this position in about two weeks when President Joe Biden ends his term in the White House.Several significant events have happened under Nelson's watch at NASA, including the long-delayed but ultimately successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the flight of the first Artemis mission, and the momentous decision to fly Boeing's Starliner spacecraft back to Earth without crew aboard. But as he leaves office, there are questions about ongoing delays with NASA's signature Artemis Program to return humans to the Moon.Ars spoke with Nelson about his time in office, the major decisions he made, and the concerns he has for the space agency's future under the Trump administration. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.Ars: I wanted to start with the state of Artemis. You all had an event a few weeks ago where you talked about Artemis II and Artemis II delays. And you know, both those missions have slipped a couple of years now since you've been administrator. So I'm just wondering, do you know how confident we should be in the current timeline?Bill Nelson: Well, I am very confident because this most recent [delay] was occasioned by virtue of the heat shield, and it has been unanimous after all of the testing that they understand what happened to Orion's heat shield. The chunks came off in an irregular pattern from the Artemis I heat shield. With the change in the re-entry profile, they are unanimous in their recommendation that we can go with the Artemis II heat shield as it is.And I must say that of the major decisions that I've made, that was an easy one for me because it was unanimous. When I say it was unanimous, it was unanimous in the IRT, the independent review team, headed by Paul Hill. It wasn't to begin with, but after all the extensive testing, everybody was on board. It was unanimous in the deputy's committee. It was unanimous in the agency committee, and that brought it to me then in the Executive Council, and it was unanimous there.So I'm very confident that you're going to see Artemis II fly on or around April of 2026, and then if the SpaceX lander is ready, and that, of course, is a big ifbut they have met all of their milestones, and we'll see what happens on this next test... If they are ready, I think it is very probable that we will see the lunar landing in the summer of 2027.Ars: I understand that you're heading to Florida for the debut launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. What is the significance of the private industry building another private, heavy lift vehicle? How is this important for Blue Origin's Human Landing System?Bill Nelson: I've said we needed two landers because if one poops out, we've got another one. And if ever there's been a good example of why you ought to do that, it's the commercial crew to orbit. You started out, and this started back in the Obama administrationSpaceX and Boeing were selected to compete. And of course, the hands-down favorite at the time was Boeing. You see where we would be. So there's a pretty good example of why you need two. New Glenn rocket undergoes a hot-fire test on Friday evening in Florida. Credit: Blue Origin New Glenn rocket undergoes a hot-fire test on Friday evening in Florida. Credit: Blue Origin Ars: Speaking of the Human Landing System decision, I've heard you were a bit upset that the decision in April 2021 was rushed before your confirmation. At the time, they picked one, SpaceX's Starship. Were you upset?Bill Nelson: The answer is no, this is not true. But let me tell you why the speculation is there. I was sworn in on the third of May. I believe that decision was made the previous week. [Note: It was. NASA publicly announced Starship's selection on April 30.]So it clearly had been made after I was unanimously reported by the Senate committee. That's why there's all this speculation that I was upset. I do not, in any way, object to the outcome. I think it was the right outcome, and SpaceX was clearly the right winner. Which is another reason, by the way, to have a commercial partner because, in effect, SpaceX is picking up half the bill of the lander.I did think it kind of unusual. I was almost intrigued why they would do it a few days before me being sworn in. However, I don't object. I think it was the right decision. But the decision then was immediately appealed by [Blue Origin founder] Jeff Bezos. It slowed down everything for six months until the appeal was overturned, and then I insisted that there be a second lander competition, and that's when we went to work to get the money for the second competition.Ars: What's going on with the Mars Sample Return mission? You made an important decision about a year ago by shutting the current program down for a re-think.Bill Nelson: On Tuesday, we're going to announce the Mars sample return decisions, and it will not put the new administration in a box. We're going to work it up with options for them to consider, and then, in large part, it's going to be their decisions because of the funding. But sooner or later, the samples will be returned from Mars, and therefore, we will have an idea that millions of years ago, was there life on Mars? And what happened? And what can we learn if there was life that we could become better stewards of ours?Ars: Do you think you have some options that are affordable for the mission? From a schedule and cost standpoint, it was looking pretty untenable.Bill Nelson: Well, that's why I pulled the plug on it, because it was too costly, and it was going to take all the way to 2040, and that's unacceptable. So I think you will see in the options that we're going to present on Tuesday that our desire to bring it in quicker and cheaper is certainly doable.Ars: What do you think of the Trump administration's plan to nominate private astronaut and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as your successor?Bill Nelson: I don't really know him. I've met him. I called him on the day it was announced and congratulated him and told him that I was happy to help in any way. But I really do not know him. Obviously, a lot of people think very highly of him, and so I wish him well, and if he is confirmed as the administrator of NASA, he will certainly have my support.Ars: Do you think it's appropriate for the next administration to review the Artemis Program?Bill Nelson: Are you implying that Artemis should be canceled?Ars: No. I don't think Artemis will be canceled in the main. But I do think they're going to take a look at the way the missions are done at the architecture. I know NASA just went through that process with Orion's heat shield.Bill Nelson: Well, I think questioning what you're doing clearly is always an issue that ought to be on the table. But do I think that they are going to cancel, as some of the chatter out there suggests, and replace SLS with Starship? The answer is no.Ars: Why?Bill Nelson: Put yourself in the place of President Trump. Do you think President Trump would like to have a conversation with American astronauts on the surface of the Moon during his tenure?Ars: Of course. Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, President-elect Donald Trump, and Gen. Chance Saltzman of the US Space Force watch the sixth launch of Starship Tuesday. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, President-elect Donald Trump, and Gen. Chance Saltzman of the US Space Force watch the sixth launch of Starship Tuesday. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images Bill Nelson: OK, let me ask you another question. Do you think that President Trump would rather have a conversation with American astronauts during his tenure rather than listening to the comments of Chinese astronauts on the Moon during his tenure?My case is closed, your Honor, I submit it to the jury.Ars: You've had a long relationship with Elon Musk. I think some good, some bad. And I'm just wondering how comfortable you are with the role he's playing, advising the incoming president on space policy, given that SpaceX is integral to what NASA is doing, and there's some pretty clear conflicts of interest there.Bill Nelson: I have not had any bad experiences with Elon vis--vis our space program. I have always said to him, and I've said it to him at least twice personally, that SpaceX's success on the lander is NASA's success, and SpaceX's success on the lander is America's success. I have a great relationship with Gwynne (Shotwell), and I think it's a tribute to Elon that he lets her run SpaceX.Now that's my professional relationship with Elon. I have not ventured in a relationship with him with regard to what you're referring to in his conduct in an election and the future. I will venture to say that as to the future of NASA, since I am basically an optimist by nature, I believe that at least for the human program going to the Moon and then eventually to Mars, I think that Elon, with his personal relationship with the president-elect, can make sure that NASA has the money to accomplish that. And for that reason, I am optimistic.Ars: What are you going to do next?Bill Nelson: Well, the first thing I'm going to do is sequester myself for a couple of months, and I'm going to see if in this experience of 50 years, having already written one book 38 years ago about NASA, specifically about training, spaceflight, and the Challenger disaster, I'm going to see if there's the thread of some story that might be worth publishing.Ars: As one writer to another, I wish you the best of luck with that.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 2 Comments

Pluto (right) and its moon Charon, photographed by NASAs New Horizons probe in 2015NASA/JHUAPL/SwRIPluto and its moon Charon may have been briefly locked together in a cosmic kiss, before the dwarf planet released the smaller body and recaptured it in its orbit.Charon is the largest of Plutos five moons, with a radius more than half that of Pluto itself,but the question of how it came to orbit Pluto has puzzled astronomers. AdvertisementOne prominent theory suggests that Charon formed after a vast object smashed into Pluto, spewing debris into space that later formed Charon, similar to how scientists think Earths moon formed. But Charons large size and close orbit, at eight times wider than Pluto itself, make this a challenging scenario to explain.Now, Adeene Denton at the University of Arizona and her colleagues have proposed that Charon may have a less destructive origin story, which they describe as a kiss and capture.Previous simulations have treated Pluto and Charon as fluids an assumption that works when modelling collisions between larger bodies. But recent research has shown that with objects of lighter mass than Earths moon, the material strength of their composition influences the outcome. Pluto and Charon are quite small, so the assumption that they are fluid bodies probably no longer applies, says Denton. Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.Sign up to newsletterThe researchers ran simulations that take into account Pluto and Charons compositions of rock and ice, and found that a more likely scenario involved a gentle sticking together and parting ways.Their model showed that a proto-Charon may have penetrated a proto-Plutos icy shell and the two bodies would have spun together rapidly for around 10 hours. Eventually, the spinning flung Charon back out and it settled into Plutos orbit.I had always assumed that any collision between planetary bodies that were hundreds of kilometres across would destroy the smaller one, if captured, says David Rothery at the Open University, UK.While the kiss-and-capture scenario is interesting, says Rothery, it will need to also explain the complex geological features seen on both Pluto and Charon, such as heavily cratered surfaces and icy volcanism, which it doesnt currently.Journal reference:Nature Geoscience DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01612-0Topics:Pluto

Velvet ants sting by injecting venom from their abdomenJojo Dexter/Getty ImagesThe sting of a female velvet ant is one of the most painful in the animal kingdom. Now, researchers have discovered that these insects have multiple proteins in their venom that make it exquisitely effective against a wide range of victims, including invertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.Velvet ants are in fact a family of wingless wasps with more than 7000 species. The researcher Justin Schmidt, who invented the Schmidt sting pain index, described their sting as explosive and long-lasting, you sound insane as you scream. Hot oil from the deep fryer spilling over your entire hand. AdvertisementTo investigate what makes it so painful, Dan Tracey at Indiana University and his colleagues asked members of the public to carefully collect female scarlet velvet ants (Dasymutilla occidentalis) from sites in Indiana and Kentucky.They tested the venom on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), mice (Mus musculus) and a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), a potential predator of velvet ants.One of the peptides that the team isolated from the venom, called Do6a, clearly caused a response in insects but, surprisingly, not in mice. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterSo this means that the venom has evolved to have components that are specifically targeting pain-sensing neurons of insects and other ingredients are targeting the mammals, says Tracey.The team further tested this by allowing a praying mantis to attempt to capture velvet ants.We discovered that the velvet ants always escaped from the grip of the mantis by stinging it in self-defence, says Tracey.However, mice did show strong pain responses when tested with other peptides isolated from the velvet ant venom, called Do10a and Do13a.After finding the peptides that activate neurons, the researchers compared the venom peptide sequences from four other velvet ant species.All of them have an almost identical version of the peptide that potently activates insect pain-sensing neurons, says Lydia Borjon, a team member at Indiana University. They also have some peptides that look similar to the general neuron activators, but with some differences. So, it is likely that pain is caused in a similar way in other velvet ant species.The research could help to develop new pain treatments for humans, says Borjon.Journal reference:Current Biology DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.070Topics:

PhysicsThe many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics invokes alternative realities to keep everything in balance. Has solving a century-old paradox now undermined their existence? 6 January 2025 William Horton, William Horton PhotographyEvery now and then, it is worth pausing for a second and giving thanks to the many, ever so slightly different versions of you that exist in parallel realities. It is these alternative selves that help to keep these universes in balance.At least, that is whats going on if you happen to subscribe to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory. First proposed more than 65 years ago, the idea is that reality is constantly splitting off into parallel paths, due to subtle interactions at the level of quantum particles. Though it may boggle the mind, it also smooths over some devilishly tricky problems in physics and, for that reason, plenty of clear-eyed physicists believe it to be true.But now this strange idea might be facing a huge challenge, thanks to physicists Sandu Popescu and Daniel Collins at the University of Bristol, UK. They initially set out to solve a 100-year-old puzzle in quantum theory, but ended up undermining the idea of parallel universes. Weve essentially demolished one of the arguments for it, says Collins.It might sound like a destabilising development, but it may actually prove to be a shot in the arm for quantum theory. Already, Popescu and Collinss work is helping to resolve other long-standing quantum paradoxes and, in the eyes of some theorists, it points to a fresh way of thinking about the cosmos as a singular quantum reality built from the inside out. This is something deep and new. I think it could become really important, says Nicolas Gisin, who researches

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy aim to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget by July 4, 2026.They've said they'll fire federal employees, "delete" agencies, and publicize all of their work.The DOGE leaders have name-dropped many causes they may target, such as DEI efforts and public media.Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have big plans for the Department of Government Efficiency.The two have promised to significantly reduce the federal budget, with a goal of cutting $2 trillion in spending. In the fiscal year 2024, federal spending reached $6.75 trillion, with nine-tenths going to federal programs. President-elect Donald Trump has long sworn not to touch Social Security or Medicare benefits, which comprise a significant chunk of the budget.Here's a running list of things Musk and Ramaswamy have said they'll do as they gear up to take on this new role.Representatives for Musk and Trump didn't respond to Business Insider's request for comment. A representative for Ramaswamy declined to comment.Slash regulationsMusk and Ramaswamy plan to suggest regulations for Trump to cut, and they said Trump could then use executive actions to pause the regulations and begin the removal process.The coheads outlined their ideas in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal and said they planned to lean on two recent US Supreme Court rulings, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The cases, they said, "suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law."Some legal experts previously told BI that the DOGE leaders were misinterpreting the lawsuits, which they said didn't add to the executive branch's ability to curb regulations. Under the rulings, agencies still need to comply with a lengthy administrative process to change or overturn rules, the experts said.'Delete' entire agencies, or at least vastly change themA key part of DOGE's cost-cutting agenda has to do with scaling back government agencies Ramaswamy promised that the group would "delete" entire departments. Political scientists and fellows at Washington think tanks previously told BI that deleting departments outright almost always requires congressional approval, making DOGE's goal seem unrealistic to some. Musk has said he wants to trim the number of federal agencies down to no more than 99.Here are some of the agencies DOGE plans to target:Department of Education: Trump has said he wants to abolish thepost on X, Ramaswamy endorsed the idea, and he did so again while speaking with Fox News in November; he also said on X that dismantling the department would help address the nation's low literacy rates. The department has the smallest staff of any Cabinet agency, employing fewer than 4,500 full-time-equivalent employees. For the fiscal year 2024, it had a $90 billion budget, which is less than 11% of the defense budget of $842 billion.Department of Defense: Musk and Ramaswamy have also targeted theTesla CEO criticizing the Pentagon's F-35 jets in a string of X posts.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureaucreated after the Great Recession to protect consumers. In 2024, the CFPB had almost 1,800 full-time-equivalent positions and an annual budget of $762.9 million, according to the agency's annual performance report. Previous attemptsInternal Revenue Service: Musk has mentioned simplifying the tax code and has asked his followers in posts on X whether the IRS should be deleted. Ramaswamy has also posted about the IRS he reposted an article explaining that the agency risked losing $20 billion in funding with the caption, "This is not a bad thing." In 2024, the IRS had a $14.1 billion budget; in 2023, the IRS employed just shy of 83,000 full-time-equivalent positions.Planned Parenthood and public media may be impactedMusk and Ramaswamy criticized the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and "progressive groups like Planned Parenthood" in their op-ed. They said DOGE would try to curb federal spending "by taking aim" at the funds appropriated for those services, among others.The$535 million. Congress created the CPB and authorizes the budget. Between 2019 and 2021, American affiliates of Planned Parenthood received about $148 million in federal grants, according to the Government Accounting Office.Target expired federal spending commitments On X, Ramaswamy has floated a range of places that could see cuts. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Musk and Ramaswamy said in their op-ed that they planned to go after expired federal expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, $516 billion worth of federal appropriations in 2024 have expired, with the largest programs in terms of spending relating to veterans' healthcare, drug development, and NASA. Neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have specified which expired authorizations they'd target.Reduce the federal workforceMusk and Ramaswamy have said they want to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce, though haven't specified precisely how many employees should be cut. There were more than 2 million federal employees as of 2023, according to the nonpartisan group the Partnership for Public Service.Civil-service workers benefit from job protections that make it difficult to fire them, but the DOGE co-leaders said in their Journal article that Trump could implement "reductions in force" that aren't directed at individual employees.In the op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy said that after eliminating federal regulations, "mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy" would follow. They plan to determine the minimum number of employees needed at each department and said they might enact policies that lead some staffers to voluntarily resign, such as return-to-office mandates, early retirement offers, and severance packages.Federal employee salaries don't comprise a big chunk of the budget not including military personnel, their annual salaries and benefits total about $305 billion, or 4% of spending, The Washington Post reported. If Musk and Ramaswamy got rid of 25% of the federal workforce, government spending would fall by about 1%.Relocate some federal agencies and reform building use Musk has vowed to get rid of entire agencies. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Musk and Ramaswamy raised the possibility of relocating federal agencies outside Washington in their op-ed, a point that Ramaswamy has spoken more about online and in interviews. When talking to Fox News in November, he said he "absolutely" wanted to move agencies elsewhere and called the fact that some employees don't go into the office a "dirty little secret."In a post on X from late November, Ramaswamy said addressing the cost of maintaining federal buildings "sounds like a job for DOGE." A 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office found that 17 of the agencies reviewed used about 25% or less of their buildings' space. The federal government spends about $2 billion each year to maintain federal office buildings and $5 billion to lease space to agencies, the report found.Conduct audits of agenciesIn their opinion piece, Musk and Ramaswamy said audits conducted during temporary payment suspensions could bring big savings. They called out the Pentagon and wrote that the agency failed its seventh consecutive audit. Support for the proposal came from an unlikely place: progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders. In a post on X, Sanders said that "Elon Musk is right," adding that the Pentagon had "lost track of billions." Musk has stayed by Trump's side since the election. ANGELA WEISS / AFP Publicize all the changes the commission makesMusk said in a post on X that he'd publish all of DOGE's actions online for "maximum transparency.""Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" he wrote. In the same post, he said DOGE would create a "leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending." Ramaswamy promised in a post that DOGE would start "crowdsourcing" for sources of waste and fraud.Hire employeesIn addition to Musk and Ramaswamy, DOGE has announced one official hire: William Joseph McGinley as the commission's counsel. The commission is actively recruiting employees, according to its X account, though their identities have not yet been shared and the hiring process remains unclear.In a post on X from November, the commission said it was seeking "super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week" and that thousands have indicated interest. Applicants should message the account their CV and the co-leaders would review top contenders, the post said.Musk said in his own post from that month that the jobs will be unpaid. Yet in late December, DOGE's account said the commission was looking for people to fill "full-time salaried HR, IT, and Finance positions." Again, interested applicants were instructed to send their rsums and bullet points about their interest in a direct message.Disband DOGE no later than July 4, 2026When Trump announced the creation of DOGE, he said the committee would disband by July 4, 2026. The committee's leaders, though, have said they think their work will be done earlier.Musk said on X that DOGE would complete its goals "much faster," and Ramaswamy told Fox News that "people will be surprised by, I think, how quickly we're able to move with some of those changes."They've hinted at abolishing daylight-saving time and other initiativesThough posts on X don't equate to an official DOGE plan, Musk and Ramaswamy have both posted about other things they may tackle in their roles, some of which would require congressional approval.Musk has posted about abolishing daylight-saving time, spending in Afghanistan, and "fake jobs" in the government.Ramaswamy said in his posts that DOGE could be used to address subsidies from the CHIPS Act, DEI efforts at universities, and how the federal government buys technology services.DOGE's X account has posted repeatedly about publicly funded infrastructure projects, including the California High Speed Rail project, which aims to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. First approved in 2008, the project's timeline and budget have grown in the years since. Though DOGE's posts on X don't specify precise plans for existing infrastructure projects, they criticize the permitting and regulation process.Correction: December 13, 2024 An earlier version of this story misstated the end date for DOGE; it is set to end July 4, 2026, not June 4, 2026. The story also overstated the number of existing federal agencies.

Anna Sawai celebrated her Golden Globes win.Anna Sawai at the 2025 Golden Globes. Tommaso Boddi/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Sawai won the Golden Globe for best female actor in a drama series for her performance in "Shgun."She raised her award in excitement after her win, smiling gleefully. The "Wicked" cast was photographed celebrating at their table.The "Wicked" table at the 2025 Golden Globes. Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images During the evening, the cast and crew of "Wicked" that attended the Golden Globes, including Jon M. Chu, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum, toasted each other with glasses of bubbly.Cynthia Erivo's and Ariana Grande's hands were visible at the bottom of the photo as they raised their glasses. Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Erivo seemed happy to see each other.Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Erivo at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Mot & Chandon Yeoh, who plays Madame Morrible in "Wicked," wrapped Erivo in a tight hug and smiled softly at the camera.Erivo leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes. Friends like Ayo Edebiri and Zendaya reunited at the awards show.Ayo Edebiri and Zendaya at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Edebiri and Zendaya posed with their arms around each other during the Golden Globes.Zendaya changed out of the custom Louis Vuitton dress she wore on the red carpet before they were photographed. Zendaya squeezed Timothe Chalamet, too.Zendaya and Timothe Chalamet at the 2025 Golden Globes. Christopher Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images The "Dune" costars hugged at Chalamet's table, where Zendaya was also photographed greeting Kylie Jenner. The "A Complete Unknown" actor spent most of the night cozied up to Kylie Jenner.Kylie Jenner and Timothe Chalamet at the 2025 Golden Globes. Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images Chalamet brought Jenner as his date to the awards show, though she didn't walk the red carpet with him.The couple had plenty of PDA moments throughout the night, including a kiss where Jenner sweetly cupped Chalamet's face. Selena Gomez was photographed kissing her fianc, Benny Blanco, as well.Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco at the 2025 Golden Globes. Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Gomez and Blanco sat side-by-side throughout the night, sneaking in a kiss between the segments of the awards show. Gomez jumped to her feet when her costar won an award.Selena Gomez at the 2025 Golden Globes. Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Gomez and Zoe Saldaa were nominated as supporting actors for their performances in "Emilia Prez," and Saldaa won.The actor was thrilled, but Gomez almost seemed happier than Saldaa was herself, jumping to her feet and clapping for her costar. Andrew Garfield and Kerry Washington looked excited for Demi Moore after her win.Andrew Garfield, Demi Moore, Kerry Washington at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Moore's performance in "The Substance" earned her the Golden Globe for best female lead actor in a motion picture musical or comedy.Moore gave an emotional acceptance speech, and afterward, Garfield and Washington, who presented the award, cheered her on as they accompanied her offstage. Edebiri and Andrew Scott seemed happy to see each other.Andrew Scott and Ayo Edebiri at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Scott and Edebiri, who were both wearing bold suits for the evening, embraced when they found each other at the Golden Globes.The pair appeared to stay locked in their hug while they caught up. Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley posed for a photo together.Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images The pair, who both took their parents to the Golden Globes, wrapped their arms around each other while taking photos.Powell and Qualley are set to star in A24's "Huntington" together. Throughout the night, Kylie Jenner, Elle Fanning, and Monica Barbaro took photos together.Kylie Jenner, Elle Fanning, and Monica Barbaro at the 2025 Golden Globes. Christopher Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images The trio sat together at the "A Complete Unknown" table for the Golden Globes, chatting and giggling during the awards show.They also posed for several photos, including this shot where they looked over their shoulders at the camera. Jenner even snapped some photos of her own.Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, and Kylie Jenner at the 2025 Golden Globes. Christopher Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Fanning sat between Barbaro and Jenner, hugging the two women as they looked at Jenner's phone for the photo. Kieran Culkin gave Colman Domingo a peek at his bracelets for the evening.Colman Domingo and Kieran Culkin at the 2025 Golden Globes. Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Domingo and Culkin spoke to each other forVariety's Actors on Actors series in December.During their conversation, Culkin spoke to Domingo about the array of bracelets he's often spotted wearing in public.When they spoke, Culkin told Domingo he switched the bracelets out every month or so, and he appeared to be showing him his updated collection at the Golden Globes. Ramy Youssef and Emma Stone looked ecstatic to see each other.Ramy Youssef and Emma Stone at the 2025 Golden Globes. Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Youssef and Stone filmed "Poor Things" together, so the Golden Globes offered them the chance to reunite.They both grinned widely at each other as they hugged.Ariana Grande brought her mom as her date.Ariana and Joan Grande at the 2025 Golden Globes. Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Ariana and Joan Grande were together throughout the evening, standing up to pose for a photo between segments of the awards show. Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman sat closely together all night.Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at the 2025 Golden Globes. Christopher Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Photographer Christopher Polk captured Urban and Kidman, who have been married for nearly 19 years, hugging from their seats at the Golden Globes.Both closed their eyes and smiled during the embrace, seemingly lost in their own world.The cameras caught the candid moments between celebrities that make the Golden Globes so much fun.Timothe Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at the 2025 Golden Globes. Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images Michael Buckner snapped a shot of Chalamet and Jenner, who are largely private about their relationship, leaning in for a kiss at their table.

Zendaya wore a ring to the Golden Globes, sparking rumors that she is engaged to Tom Holland.Zendaya and Holland are known for keeping most of their relationship details private.PR experts told Business Insider the ring could be interpreted as a nod to an engagement without needing a statement.Zendaya wore a ring on her left ring finger to the Golden Globes on Sunday reigniting theories that she and Tom Holland are engaged.Two branding PR experts told Business Insider that this approach could generate more attention than a simple statement.Holland met Zendaya in 2016 when she auditioned for 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," in which he played Spider-Man. Zendaya's character, Michelle Jones, became Holland's love interest in the sequels to "Homecoming," leading to fans speculated if the actors would date like other former "Spider-Man" costars.Holland eventually confirmed their romance to GQ in November 2021, while criticizing the media for publishing a photo of them kissing in a car earlier that year before they were ready to go public.Since then, Zendaya and Holland have appeared in public as a couple but kept most details about their relationship private.On Sunday, The Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Kaufman said Zendaya "kept showing her ring, smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders mysteriously" when she asked if she was engaged. On Monday, TMZ and People reported they were engaged, citing unnamed sources. Neither Zendaya nor Holland have commented, and their representatives did immediately not respond to a request for comment from BI. Zendaya appeared to have a diamond ring on her left ring finger at the Golden Globes 2025. Taylor Hill / FilmMagic Kayley Cornelius, a celebrity PR specialist from Manchester, UK, said Zendaya's choice to wear the ring could be a clever PR stunt, because it could get double the attention.She said that fans and the media were already speculating about whether the couple are engaged, and that conversation will be restarted if the couple addresses the rumors."If they just came out with a statement saying they're engaged, the moment would've lived and died by the end of this week," Cornelius said.Mayah Riaz, a PR and personal branding expert based in London, said she wouldn't label the moment a publicity stunt but thinks Zendaya's team "would be fully aware of the buzz it would generate.""It has excited fans and media, driving attention without either of them having to make a formal statement," Riaz said. "This understated approach is very in line with their brand of letting their work speak for itself while occasionally letting personal moments shine."Holland and Zendaya's choice to stay private helps their relationship look authentic Zendaya at the Golden Globes 2025. Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic Riaz said the private approach reinforces the actors' brands as "mature, focused professionals.""They've cultivated trust and respect from their fan base, as they are seen as prioritizing their personal lives over publicity," Riaz said. "Doing this allows them to focus public attention on their work rather than their personal life, which can be beneficial for those wanting to be taken seriously in their craft."Cornelius said this approach makes Holland and Zendaya's relationship seem more relatable to the average person and authentic."They're probably losing out on money by not being as public as they are and building up that brand and identity together," Cornelius said. "So the fact that they're willing to lose out on that, keep things private, it shows that they're likely very genuine, and they very much care about one another."Comparing the couple to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Cornelius said it's smart for Zendaya and Holland to keep their brands separate in case they break up."Unfortunately for Travis, he is going to find it very hard to ever shift his brand from being Taylor Swift's boyfriend," Cornelius said. "And because they've been so public together, everything that Travis does now is going to have that association with Taylor Swift."By rarely sharing public moments together, Zendaya and Holland garner more attention than celebrities who are often out together, Riaz and Cornelius said.They said this increased interest in the couple could backfire if fans begin overstepping boundaries to find more information or if false rumors spiral out of control.Overall, they said the benefits outweigh these risks."Tom and Zendaya have struck a great balance by being private yet not completely inaccessible. They've neither denied nor overshared, allowing them to maintain respect from their fans and the media," Riaz said.