Good morning, it's Saturday, Nov. 14. Researchers have mapped the most disease-relevant region of the brain. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: the FAA issues a rare nationwide ground stop (Quick Hits), 100 poets raise money for a local homeless shelter (Humankind), the most valuable companies in every state (Etc.), and much more.
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A global consortium of more than 50 institutions has created the most detailed cellular atlas yet of the brain's most disease-relevant region (w/diagrams), potentially inspiring treatments for a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions. The data is publicly available, with findings detailed across 26 research papers published this week.
Researchers profiled 25.5 million individual cells from the basal ganglia of human, macaque, and marmoset brains to build the atlas. It is a group of interconnected structures deep within the brain that influence movement, habit formation, decision-making, and emotion (watch 101). Dysfunction and damage within basal ganglia circuits have been linked to Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other conditions. The atlas has already yielded promising discoveries, including a previously unrecognized brain cell type associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and genetic changes in specific cell types that may contribute to autism.
Scientists say the basal ganglia atlas marks a major step toward mapping the entire human brain. Watch a neuroscientist explain brain mapping at five levels of difficulty. |
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Federal Aviation Administration grounds flights nationwide for hours.
Officials cited extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns later tied to an outdated air traffic control system. The ground stop began around 4 pm ET yesterday and ended around 8:30 pm ET. This marks the second nationwide ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001. The previous one occurred in 2023, when a critical predeparture safety alert system went down. (More) |
Oil tanker collides with river cruise ship in New Orleans.
A New Orleans river cruise ship carrying roughly 180 people capsized after it was struck by a much larger oil tanker on Friday afternoon. The cruise ship was docked and finishing an eight-day cruise of the Mississippi River. Videos and images show more than a dozen people in life vests being rescued from 66-degree Fahrenheit water. Everyone has been accounted for, and 32 people were hospitalized, though none sustained critical injuries. The cause of the collision is unclear as of this writing. (More, w/video, warning—sensitive) |
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to run for Senate Majority Leader.
The Democratic senator from Maryland says he will challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has led Senate Democrats for nearly 10 years. His decision comes as Democratic officials and strategists meet for a two-day conference to discuss the party's future following decisive midterm election victories. A closed-door, secret-ballot election for Senate leader is scheduled for early December; the Democrats' last contested election for the position was in 1994 and was decided by one vote. (More) |
Separately, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R, CO-4) lost her reelection bid to retired Navy Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, further expanding the Democrats' House majority. (More) |
Microsoft blames technical issue, not AI or cyberattack, for global outage.
The tech giant apologized yesterday for a worldwide service disruption to its workplace software that began Thursday afternoon, while reassuring users that there is no indication of malicious activity. The outage has affected police crime reporting systems, health services, court operations, schools, and other services across 74 countries and territories. Microsoft had 450 million paid seats on its workplace suite as of January. (More) |
Researchers develop rapid, in-field tongue swab tuberculosis test.
The test can detect the bacterial infection in 20 minutes, enabling same-day diagnosis and treatment, according to a study published this week. Traditional skin and blood tests can take up to three days to produce results. The swab test also requires minimal training to administer and can withstand temperatures up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, making it well suited for remote areas where tuberculosis is most prevalent (scroll for heat map). (More) |
Several inductees may not attend tonight's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.
The ceremony will be held at the Peacock Theater in downtown LA tonight but will air publicly only when an edited version is released on ABC and Disney+ in December. More than half of this year’s living honorees are expected to miss the event, citing scheduling conflicts, health issues, disputes with bandmates, and more. Billy Idol and the Wu-Tang Clan are among the inductees anticipated to perform. See full list of inductees here. (More) |
See our editors' most fascinating findings about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame here. |
NFL quarterback Sam Hartman to lead 30th season of ABC's "The Bachelor."
The Washington Commanders’ 27-year-old practice-squad quarterback will be the first active professional athlete to star on the dating show. His season, set to premiere March 21, will mark the franchise’s return after a yearlong hiatus. The break followed the last-minute cancellation of “The Bachelorette” season starring “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” personality Taylor Frankie Paul, which was pulled after a video surfaced of an alleged domestic violence incident. (More) |
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English screenwriter and actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge lends her London flat to playwrights from underprivileged backgrounds. (More) |
Strangers raise more than $76K for a woman who works food delivery shifts while also serving as a full-time caregiver for her 82-year-old mother. (More, w/video) |
Italy invests $2.2M to support shelters and rehabilitation facilities that find loving homes for dogs rescued from fighting rings. (More) |
Mother notices her Doberman behaving oddly around her infant, alerting her to a potentially dangerous condition. (More) |
One hundred poets write poems about homelessness and donate proceeds to local shelter. (More, w/poem) |
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Today, we're sharing a story from reader Gilda H. in Monticello, Indiana.
"Last week we visited Vézelay, a very small village in France. We were trying to find our small hotel in very narrow, unmarked streets. An elderly gentleman with a white beard and cane noticed we had stopped and looked confused. He smiled, nodded his head, and motioned for us to follow him. He led me personally to the hotel and spoke to the proprietor in French (which I don’t speak). Then he went back to our car and guided my husband to the parking space. Then, with a kind smile and not a word spoken, he went on his way."
Humankind(ness) is a reader-built corner of joy. So, what act(s) of kindness did you experience this week? Tell us here. And if this story made you smile—share our email (copy URL here). |
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Why old cars were so long.
Most Clicked This Week: Why experts say you should stop raking your leaves.
Historybook: French painter Claude Monet born (1840); "Moby-Dick" is first published in the US (1851); Booker T. Washington dies (1915); Condoleezza Rice born (1954). |
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"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." |
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