# s-phys: if you take a large collection of chaotic balls ...

<< If  you  take  a  large  collection  of  balls  in  contact  and  force  some  of  them  to  spin,  they  can  behave  like a  set  of  gears,  with  each  ball  rotating  without  slipping.  Experiments  and  theory  show  that  this synchronized  motion  can  be predicted  even  when the initial  motion  involves  seemingly  random slipping  between  the  spheres  (like  the  skipping  of  gears).  The  researchers  say  that  the  ability  to predict  this  collective  motion  could  lead  to  three-dimensional  gear  systems  in  which  manipulations of  one or two spheres allows complete control  of  the  rotational  motion  of  the  others >>

Michael  Schirber. Focus:  Balls  as  3D  Gears. June 24,  2016.

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v9/71

D. V. Stager, N. A. M. Araujo, and H. J. Herrmann. Prediction and Control of Slip-Free Rotation States in Sphere Assemblies. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 254301. Publ. 24 June 2016

http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.254301

# s-behav: the intriguing behavior of the elderly Barbary macaques.

<< With  increasing  age,  the  monkeys [Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)] became  more  selective  in  their  social  interactions,"  Almeling  says. "They  had  fewer  'friends'  and  invested  less  in  social  interactions.  Interestingly,  however,  they  were  still interested  in  what  was  going  on  in  their  social  world." >>

Monkeys get more selective with age. 23-Jun-2016

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/cp-mgm061616.php

Laura Almeling,  Kurt Hammerschmidt, et al. Motivational Shifts in Aging Monkeys and the Origins of Social Selectivity. Current Biology, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.066

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.066

# n-socsci: power seekers vs the awareness of discrimination

<< People  who  are  interested  in  gaining  power  for  themselves  are  less  aware  than others  of  discrimination  and  injustice  in  the  workplace >>

Elisabeth  Enoksen. Power  seekers  do  not  see  discrimination. Doctoral thesis. Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Stavanger, 2016. Published  09.06.2016

http://www.uis.no/research-phd-education/research-news/power-seekers-do-not-see-discrimination-article105975-10738.html

Power seekers do not see discrimination. ScienceDaily. 17 June 2016.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160617083931.htm

# s-brain: the question is: Humans vs Woodstock, who is the smarter?

Are  you  smarter than a  macaw? Ounce  for  ounce,  bird brains  have  significantly  more  neurons  than  mammal  or  primate  brains. June  13,  2016

http://kurzweilai.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aad1a7eea269839c7d10845e8&id=315d9eb294&e=47d5831a91

Seweryn  Olkowicz, Martin  Kocourek, et al. Birds  have  primate-like  numbers  of  neurons  in  the  forebrain. PNAS (Proceedings  of  the  National Academy  of  Sciences)  June  13, 2016.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/06/07/1517131113

# s-bot: JARexit: the ironic probabilistic upshot of the itinerant, escaping IR77, Promobot

Ben  Guarino. After escaping its  creators a  second  time,  Russian robot’s  final  destination may be scrap heap. June 23, 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/23/after-escaping-its-creators-a-second-time-russian-robots-final-destination-may-be-scrap-heap/

Melissa Etehad. Russian  robot  gets  a  few hours  of  freedom  after escaping  a  lab. June 16, 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/16/russian-robot-gets-a-few-hours-of-freedom-after-escaping-a-lab/

FonT: "JARexit": a final  destination may be a Russian scrap heap ...

# s-gst: unexpected silent zones in interseismic period, a long-standing enigma ...

<< Why  many  major  strike-slip  faults  known  to  have  had  large  earthquakes  are  silent  in  the interseismic  period  is  a  long-standing  enigma.  One  would  expect  small  earthquakes  to  occur  at least  at  the  bottom  of  the  seismogenic  zone,  where  deeper  aseismic  deformation  concentrates loading.  [AA]  suggest  that  the  absence  of  such  concentrated  microseismicity  indicates  deep rupture  past  the  seismogenic  zone  in  previous  large  earthquakes >>

Bob Yirka. New  theory  to  explain  why  some  fault  segments remain  quiet  between  quakes.  June 10, 2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-06-theory-fault-segments-quiet-quakes.html

Junle Jiang , Nadia Lapusta. Deeper  penetration  of  large  earthquakes  on  seismically  quiescent  faults. Science    10  Jun  2016: Vol.  352,  Issue  6291,  pp.  1293-1297 DOI:10.1126/science.aaf1496.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf1496

FonT: quando una decina di giorni fa ho letto questa news, chissa' perche', ho pensato a BRexit ...

BRexit:   http://www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results

# s-acad: the gnosis of David (inside the walking around)

<< but I'll always be a chemist at heart >>

David J. Hill, Singularity University

http://singularityhub.com/2016/06/11/this-weeks-awesome-stories-from-around-the-web-through-june-11th-2/

# s-cancer: the naked mole-rat, an extraordinary resistance

<< The naked mole-rat (NMR, Heterocephalus glaber), which is the longest-lived rodent species, exhibits extraordinary resistance to cancer >>

Shingo Miyawaki, Yoshimi Kawamura, et al. Tumour resistance in induced pluripotent stem cells derived from naked mole-rats. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 11471 doi:10.1038/ncomms11471. 10 May 2016

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11471

African subterranean animal exhibits “extraordinary” cancer resistance. Hokkaido University Magazine, June 16, 2016.

http://www.oia.hokudai.ac.jp/blog/34769/

# s-gst-game: tit-for-tat and the emergence of morality

<< Ultimately, the results showed that the best strategy was 'tit for tat' – which means that a player starts out cooperating on the first move, and then does whatever it's opponent does >>

<< it's interesting that it emerged – it self-organised – into this state of being that the Old Testament morality ended up winning in this environment >>

<< So in fact what was found in later studies, when they examined prisoner's dilemma in environments where errors occurred with a certain frequency, is that the population tended to evolve to more generous, more like New Testament strategies that will 'turn the other cheek' >>

<< If natural selection leads to morality, that's pretty interesting. And that came from maths! >>.  Steven  Strogatz.

Steven  Strogatz, in: Elena  Holodny. The  mathematical  origins  of  morals.  Business  Insider, 14  Jun  2016

http://www.sciencealert.com/a-professor-explains-how-1980s-game-theory-could-explain-how-morality-evolved

FonT: <<  and then does whatever it's opponent does >> ... approccio senz'altro utile all'interno di scenari di simulazione; in contesti reali un approccio creativo, esplorativo, perturbativo, e per mia opinione anche funzionale, al problema di  decidere sul comportamento cooperativo al successivo "run" e' quello di affidarsi all'esito del lancio di moneta, ovviamente dopo un giudizio (formato da componenti di natura analitica ma anche soggettiva) circa il contesto che ha fatto intravedere la necessita' - per l'attore cooperativo - di una biforcazione, di operare una scelta.

Percio' "tit-for-tat generoso quasistocastico", tutte le volte che un gambler decide di iniziare/ sostenere un gioco "al buio", anche quando sa, oppure sospetta, che il gioco e' "a priori" fondamentalmente truccato, vale a dire deviante dai due vincoli del gioco legale, naturale [1,2,3]

Nelle componenti  "eye for an eye" vs "turn the other cheek" o, se si vuole piu' in generale, nei livelli di "risveglio" in senso buddista degli attori partecipanti tit-for-tat, dipende, anche a breve/ medio termine, la velocita' evolutiva degli esiti del gioco, esiti che riverberano in ambito sociale, anche all'interno di contesti "altri".

[1] - 1809 - strutturanti decisioni. November 26, 2004

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2004/11/1809-strutturanti-decisioni.html

[2] - 1821 - i due beffardi vincoli. November 26, 2004

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2004/11/1821-i-due-beffardi-vincoli.html

[3] - s-gst: never boring with chaos and tit-for-tat theories. June 12, 2016

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/06/s-gst-never-boring-with-chaos-and-tit.html

# s-phyto: the plastic mimicry of the 'palatable' small toropapa (Alseuosmia pusilla)

<< It has long been assumed that A. pusilla might avoid being eaten by insect or avian herbivores by mimicking the unpalatable P. colorata [Pseudowintera colorata]; until now, however, this assumption has lacked empirical evidence >>

New  research  uses  novel  approach  to  study  plant mimicry. June  13,  2016.

http://www.cdnsciencepub.com/news-and-events/press-releases/PR-CJB-2016-0049.aspx

<< 90% of leaf shape variation in the two species varied similarly across an altitudinal gradient >>

Karl G. Yager, H. Martin Schaefer, Kevin S. Gould. The significance of shared leaf shape in Alseuosmia pusilla and Pseudowintera colorata. Botany, 10.1139/cjb-2016-0049

http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2016-0049

# s-gene: a CRISPR-based RNA-targeting approach, the begin ...

<< a  new  CRISPR  system,  (..)  targets  RNA  rather  than  DNA (..), has  the  potential  to  open  a  powerful  avenue  in  cellular  manipulation. Whereas  DNA  editing  makes  permanent  changes  to  the  genome  of  a  cell,  the  CRISPR-based RNA-targeting  approach  may  allow  researchers  to  make  temporary  changes  that  can  be adjusted  up  or  down,  and  with  greater  specificity  and  functionality  than  existing  methods  for RNA  interference >>

Researchers  unlock  new  CRISPR  system  for targeting  RNA. June  2,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-06-crispr-rna.html

Omar O. Abudayyeh,  Jonathan  S.  Gootenberg,  et al. C2c2 is a single-component  programmable  RNA-guided  RNA-targeting  CRISPR  effector. Science    02  Jun 2016: DOI:  10.1126/science.aaf5573

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2016/06/01/science.aaf5573

# s-ai: artists and machine intelligence interactions: the Ross' conjecture

<< "When  we  teach  computers  to  write,  the  computers  don’t  replace  us  any  more  than  pianos  replace pianists,"  Goodwin  suggests.  "In  a  certain  way,  they  become  our  pens,  and  we  become  more  than  writers. We become  writers  of  writers." All  this  hints  at  a continuing  collaboration  of  humans  and technology  in  creative  endeavors. >> Ross  Goodwin

Ross  Goodwin. Adventures  in  Narrated  Reality. New  forms  &  interfaces  for  written  language,  enabled  by machine  intelligence. Mar 18, 2016.

https://medium.com/artists-and-machine-intelligence/adventures-in-narrated-reality-6516ff395ba3#.bxotmck1x

Jason Dorrier. An AI Wrote This Short Film—and It’s Surprisingly Entertaining. Jun  10, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/06/10/an-ai-wrote-this-short-film-and-its-surprisingly-entertaining-2/

FonT: << the  computers  don’t  replace  us  any  more  than  pianos  replace pianists >> afferma Ross;  ho idea che l'opinione di Ross circa i futuri rapporti tra AI-CPU e Umano siano illusori ...; un pianoforte nel suo stato fondamentale, di quiete,  e' un oggetto inerte, anche se nelle sue parti in legno probabilmente "conserva" memoria di tracce  dei suoni che sono stati (attraverso lui) generati, quindi del "colore" musicale dei pianisti che lo hanno utilizzato spesso; una AI-CPU non e', non puo' essere inerte; non solo "conservera'" tracce di storiche specifiche interazioni, ma sara' in grado di elaborare tali informazioni  in tempo reale con le successive e di integrarle con immense banche dati; ho idea che il rapporto tra AI-CPU e Umano, almeno nel 99% dei casi, evolvera'  in qualche forma non dissimile dai rapporti che inevitabilmente si instaurano tra infermiere psichiatrico e assistito solo parzialmente psico-neuro- autonomo; situazione questa  che mi sembra del tutto differente dalla ipotesi di Ross circa l'umano << writer of  writer >>; in ogni caso senz'altro si vedra' di quanto saranno efficaci nell'interazione  "asimmetrica estrema" tra uomo e macchina "intelligente" i  "moduli" a carattere "compassionevole" ... e se, eventualmente, si auto-assembleranno "moduli" con altre differenti specificita' ...

# s-gst: never boring with chaos and tit-for-tat theories

Elena  Holodny. An Ivy  League  professor  explains  chaos theory,  the  prisoner's  dilemma,  and  why math isn't realy  boring. Jun 8, 2016 08:34 PM

http://uk.businessinsider.com/steven-strogatz-interview-on-math-education-2016-6?r=US&IR=T

also:

the "generous" Charlie
http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2005/06/1668-ramificata-tinnula-di-carmina.html

the "predator" Donald
http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/05/p-usa-potus-race-donald-what-he-can-do.html

# s-ai: A.I. Benjamin: "you'll sell your blood to live" ...

<< In a future with mass unemployment, young people are forced to sell blood >>

<< This is the opening line of a short film entered in this year's Sci-Fi London Film Challenge. It's dark, enigmatic, contemporary…and written by a computer >>

<< I think I can see the feathers when they release their hearts >>. Benjamin.

<< Benjamin,  is  a  long  short-term  memory  (LSTM)  neural  network  that  runs  on the  very  powerful  computers  at  NYU's  high-performance  computing  lab >>

Jason Dorrier. An AI Wrote This Short Film—and It’s Surprisingly Entertaining. Jun  10, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/06/10/an-ai-wrote-this-short-film-and-its-surprisingly-entertaining-2/

# s-ai: singularity is near, by Ray

<< Today we're beginning to reach a tipping point >>.  Ray Kurzweil 

Greg Satell. 3 reasons to believe the singularity is near.  Forbes, June 3, 2016

http://www.kurzweilai.net/forbes-3-reasons-to-believe-the-singularity-is-near

http://www.digitaltonto.com/2016/3-reasons-to-believe-the-singularity-is-near/

# s-game-behav: a naturalistic window to trace strategic deception behavioural patterns

<< online poker can be utilized to investigate the psychology of deception and Machiavellianism >>

Jussi Palomaki, Jeff Yan, Michael Laakasuo.  Machiavelli as a poker mate — A naturalistic behavioural study on strategic deception.  Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 98, August 2016, Pages 266-271, ISSN 0191-8869.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.089

<< the card betting game can be used as a novel way to better understand the psychology of strategic deception. Before now, the trait has rarely been studied in natural settings outside laboratories >>

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=164548&CultureCode=en

# s-brain: the sense of rhythm

<< the  sense  of  rhythm  –  also  known  as  the  beat  –  is  so  fundamental to  humans  that  we  recognise  patterns  in  music  even  without  paying  any  attention  or receiving  any  training >>

F.L.  Bouwer. What  Do  We  Need  to  Hear  a  Beat?  The  Influence  of  Attention,  Musical  Abilities,  and Accents  on  the  Perception  of  Metrical  Rhythm.  (Thesis). Wednesday,  8  June  at  11:00. University  of  Amsterdam,   Wednesday  8  June, Aula,  Singel  411, Amsterdam.

http://www.uva.nl/en/news-events/news/uva-news/content/press-releases/2016/05/brain-picks-up-the-beat-of-music-automatically.html

Brain picks up the beat of music automatically. ScienceDaily, May 26, 2016

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526125017.htm

# s-epidem: number crunch 263,211

<< The  number  of  extra  deaths  from  cancer  during  the  financial  crisis  of  2008–10  in  countries  that  are  members of  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-operation  and  Development.  Countries  with  universal  health-care systems  seemed  to  be  protected  from  this  impact >>

http://www.nature.com/news/the-week-in-science-27-may-2-june-2016-1.20003

<< Unemployment increases  are  associated  with  rises  in  cancer  mortality >>

<< We  estimate  that  the  2008–10  economic  crisis  was  associated with  about  260  000  excess  cancer-related  deaths  in  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-operation  and  Development  alone >>

Mahiben Maruthappu, Johnathan  Watkins, et al. Economic  downturns,  universal  health  coverage,  and  cancer  mortality  in  high-income  and  middle-income  countries,  1990–2010:  a  longitudinal  analysis. The Lancet, Published  Online:  25  May  2016. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00577-8

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00577-8/abstract

# s-age: an epigenetic approach to lengthen telomeres in mice

<< CNIO  scientists  have  created  mice  with  telomeres  that  are  longer  than  those  of  the  unmodified  species,  show  fewer signs  of  molecular  ageing  and  a  have  a  lower  incidence  of  cancer. Avoiding  genetic  manipulation  to  lengthen  telomeres  offers  a  new  way  to  delay  the  ageing  process  without  altering the  genes. Hyper-long  telomeres  do  not  cause  long-term  deleterious  effects  in  mice >>

<< This  new  technique  based  on  epigenetic  changes  (..) avoids  the  manipulation  of  genes  in  order  to  delay  molecular  ageing >>

Mice  with  hyper-long  telomeres  without  altering  the  genes. Madrid,  2  June,  2016

http://www.cnio.es/ing/publicaciones/mice-with-hyper-long-telomeres-without-altering-the-genes

Elisa  Varela,  Miguel  A.  Muñoz-Lorente, et al. Generation  of  mice  with  longer  and  better  preserved telomeres  in  the  absence  of  genetic  manipulations. Nature  Communications   7,   Article  number:  11739   doi:10.1038/ncomms11739, 02  June  2016

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11739

# n-trade-bots: culled around 60.000, the begin ...

<< Kunshan,  in  Jiangsu  province,  undergoes  makeover  as  600 companies  look  to  trim  their  headcount >>

Rise  of  the  robots:  60,000  workers culled  from  just  one  factory  as China’s  struggling  electronics  hub turns  to  artificial  intelligence. South China Morning Post, 21  May,  2016,  9:50pm

http://m.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1949918/rise-robots-60000-workers-culled-just-one-factory-chinas

<< Economists  have  issued  dire  warnings  about  how  automation  will  affect  the  job  market,  with  one report,  from  consultants  Deloitte  in  partnership  with  Oxford  University,  suggesting  that  35%  of jobs  were  at  risk  over  the  next  20  years. Former  McDonald's  chief  executive  Ed  Rensi  recently  told  the US's  Fox  Business  programme minimum-wage  increase  to  $15  an  hour  would  make  companies  consider  robot  workers. "It's  cheaper  to  buy  a  $35,000  robotic  arm  than  it  is  to  hire  an  employee  who  is  inefficient, making  $15  an  hour  bagging  French  fries"  he  said >>

Jane  Wakefield. Foxconn  replaces  '60,000  factory  workers with  robots. Technology  reporter, 25  May  2016

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36376966

FonT: tempo addietro avevo letto (e sentito) diverse opinioni che escludevano senz'altro l'uso di bot nella produzione industriale in Asia in generale e in Cina in particolare ... costo del lavoro basso, percio' uso di automazione industriale "assolutamente" non conveniente ...