# p-usa: #POTUS race: Donald presidency scares him to death, by Stephen

<< Author Stephen King spoke to Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World, during a Facebook Live interview Saturday >>

<< If there's one man who would seem immune to fear, it's Stephen King, the best-selling author and master of horror fiction. But after more than 50 novels, hundreds of short stories and numerous film adaptations of his voluminous work, the 69-year-old still gets spooked >>

<< "A Tump presidency scares me more than anything else," King told Ron Charles [..] "I'm terrified that he'll become president" >>

<<  "I would have laughed three or four months ago, but I think that Trump has a real shot" >>

Peter Holley. Stephen King: ‘A Trump presidency scares me to death’. POST, The Fix. Sept. 24, 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/24/master-of-horror-fiction-stephen-king-says-trump-presidency-scares-me-to-death/

# s-bot: human brain waves to remotely control nanobots inside a cockroach

<< This is wild: a team of Israeli scientists developed a contraption that uses a person's brain waves to remotely control DNA-based nanorobots — while the nanobots were inside a living cockroach >>

http://singularityhub.com/2016/09/18/mind-controlled-nanobots-used-to-release-chemicals-in-living-cockroaches/

Arnon S, Dahan N, et al. Thought-Controlled Nanoscale Robots in a Living Host. PLoS ONE 2016 11(8):e0161227. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161227

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0161227

also: imprinting and recalling inside a single network of brain cells with thin beam of light (as if switching on a TV )

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/08/s-brain-imprinting-and-recalling-inside.html

# s-behav: fertility, in a wide view of an open system

<< Male  peacock  spiders  know  how  to  work  their  angles  and  find  their  light. The  arachnids,  native  to  Australia,  raise  their  derriere  —  or,  more  accurately,  a  flap  on  their  hind end  — skyward  and  shake  it  to  attract  females. Hairlike  scales  cover  their  bodies  and produce  the vibrant  colorations that make peacock spiders so striking >>

Helen Thompson. Tiny structures give a peacock spider its radiant rump. Sept. 09, 2016

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tiny-structures-give-peacock-spider-its-radiant-rump

Doekele G. Stavenga, Jürgen C. Otto, Bodo D. Wilts. Splendid coloration of the peacock spider Maratus splendens. J. R. Soc. Interface 2016 13 20160437; DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0437. Published 10 August 2016

http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/121/20160437

# n-socsci-ai: a Study Panel to assess the current state of Artificial Intelligence

<< The One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence, launched in the fall of  2014, is a longterm investigation of  the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its influences on people, their communities, and society. It considers the science, engineering, and deployment of  AI-enabled computing systems. As its core activity, the Standing Committee that oversees the One Hundred Year Study forms a Study Panel every five years to assess the current state of  AI. >>

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND LIFE IN 2030 ONE HUNDRED YEAR STUDY ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. REPORT OF THE 2015 STUDY PANEL. September 2016

download:
https://ai100.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/ai_100_report_0916fnl_single.pdf

Peter Stone, Rodney Brooks, et al. "Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030." One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence: Report of the 2015-2016 Study Panel, Stanford University, Stanford, CA,  September 2016. Doc: http://ai100.stanford.edu/2016-report. Accessed:  September 6, 2016. Report Authors
AI100 Standing Committee and Study Panel 

https://ai100.stanford.edu/2016-report

# n-socsci-ai: futurescape, by Gerd, Rohit et al.

<< [..] as humanity enters the Jurassic Park of Big Tech. Artificial intelligence. Cognitive computing. The Singularity. Digital obesity. Printed food. The Internet of Things. The death of privacy. The end of work-as-we-know-it, and radical longevity >>

Gerd Leonhard, Rohit Talwar et al. Technology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine (Futurescapes). Sept. 15, 2016

http://www.kurzweilai.net/technology-vs-humanity-the-coming-clash-between-man-and-machine-futurescapes

FonT: dev'essere senz'altro spassosissima la lettura di questo libro ...

# s-evol: pinnacle of nastiness, an example of natural flexibility

<< [..] venom genes might not be consistent even within a single species of rattlesnake, perhaps because snakes in different areas specialize in different prey. One western diamondback rattlesnake that Carroll’s team [Sean B. Carroll] sampled had unexpected extra genes that the other western diamondbacks didn’t have. >>

<< As for the ancestral rattlesnake, it’s impossible to say exactly how powerful the now-extinct reptile’s venom was, Carroll says. But the wider variety of enzymes this rattlesnake could hypothetically produce would have given it more flexibility to adapt its poison to environmental curveballs — an ability that Castoe [Todd Castoe] describes as “the pinnacle of nastiness.” >>

Laurel Hamers. Rattlesnakes have reduced their repertoire of venoms. September 15, 2016

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rattlesnakes-have-reduced-their-repertoire-venoms

Noah L. Dowell, Matt W. Giorgianni, et al. The Deep Origin and Recent Loss of Venom Toxin Genes in Rattlesnakes. Current Biology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.038
Published: Sept.15, 2016

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30789-8

# s-age: dietary restriction to extend lifespan

<< Dietary  restriction  is  known  to  extend  lifespan  in  many  species.  It  has  now  been  shown  to  reduce  DNA damage  and  extend  lifespan  in  mice  modelling  human  DNA-repair  disorders. >>

J.  Oshima,  G. M.  Martin. Ageing:  Dietary  protection  for  genes. Nature   537,   316–317  (15  September  2016)   doi:10.1038/nature19427 Published  online   24  August  2016.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v537/n7620/full/nature19427.html

W.  P.  Vermeij  M.  E.  T.  Dolle'. Restricted  diet  delays  accelerated  ageing  and genomic  stress  in  DNA-repair-deficient  mice. Nature Volume: 537, Pages: 427–431 Date published: 15 September 2016 DOI: doi:10.1038/nature19329

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v537/n7620/full/nature19329.html

FonT: nella costellazione di "ricette" anti- invecchiamento la restrizione alimentare, intesa non come "dieta" ma come "stile di vita", e' l'approccio che nel corso degli ultimi decenni ha avuto (e ha tuttora nella letteratura scientifica internazionale) conferme sperimentali significative; uno stile che sa  associare (giornalmente) controllo alimentare bilanciato e attivita' fisica "dolce" (secondo una generica pratica zen, ad es.) sembra  l'approccio meno rischioso e il piu' efficace tra quelli proposti.

# n-trade: Wall Streeters in transition: they were going to lower-cost centers ...

<< We said we were going to deploy 1250 people into our lower cost centers of excellence in Mumbai and other parts of the world >> Jonathan Pruzan, chief financial officer, Morgan Stanley.

Matt Turner. Watch  out  Wall  Streeters:  Your  jobs  are moving  to  Mumbai.  Sept 12, 2016

http://uk.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-is-moving-jobs-overseas-2016-9

# s-brain: mind-body connection: two broad networks in the cerebral cortex have access to the adrenal medulla

<< How  does  the  “mind”  (brain)  influence  the  “body”  (internal  organs)? >>

AA <<  identified  key  areas  in the  primate  cerebral  cortex  that  are  linked  through  multisynaptic  connections  to  the  adrenal medulla. >>

Richard  P. Dum, David  J. Levinthal, Peter  L.  Strick.  Motor,  cognitive,  and  affective  areas  of  the  cerebral  cortex  influence  the  adrenal medulla. PNAS  vol.  113,  no.  35,  9922–9927. doi:10.1073/pnas.1605044113

http://m.pnas.org/content/113/35/9922.abstract

Neuroscientists  identify  cortical  links  to  adrenal  medulla  (mind-body connection). August  19,  2016.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/neuroscientists-identify-cortical-links-to-adrenal-medulla-mind-body-connection

# s-brain: intuitions as a physical brain simulator

<< Recent  behavioral  and  computational  research  has suggested  that  our  physical  intuitions  may  be  supported  by  a  “physics  engine”  in  the  brain akin  to  the  physical  simulation  engines  built  into  video  games. >>

AA << identified  a  set  of  cortical  regions that  are  selectively  engaged  when  people  watch  and  predict  the  unfolding  of  physical  events— a  “physics  engine”  in  the  brain >>

Jason Fischer, John G. Mikhael, et al. Functional neuroanatomy of intuitive physical inference. PNAS vol.  113  no.  34  E5072–E5081

http://m.pnas.org/content/113/34/E5072.abstract

Shelly Fan.  Like Video Games, Your Brain Has a Physics Engine That Simulates the World. Sep 04, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/09/04/like-video-games-your-brain-has-a-physics-engine-that-simulates-the-world

# s-brain: only a fraction to keep alive ...

<< We're all living in a 'conceptual prison': our brains perceive a fraction of reality to keep us alive. To help us survive, our perception of truth is limited, says scientist Donald Hoffman >>

<< For millions of years the Australian jewel beetle's reproductive strategy proceeded very effectively. Then, Homo sapiens - and its habit of dumping used beer bottles - entered the picture. Unable to distinguish between these brown glass containers and the shell of a potential mate, the male beetles began attempting to copulate with discarded vessels. "They nearly went extinct" ... >>

Kathryn Nave. We're  all  living  in  a 'conceptual  prison'. 01 Sep 2016.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-reality-of-survival

# s-gst: surface waves as a Turing machine

<< A droplet bouncing and wandering across a liquid surface can produce waves that store the history of its chaotic motion >>

Philip  Ball. Focus:  Surface  Waves  Store  Bouncing Droplet’s  History. Physics  9,  101. August  26,  2016.

http://physics.aps.org/articles/v9/101

S. Perrard, E. Fort, Y. Couder. Wave-Based Turing Machine: Time Reversal and Information Erasing. Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 094502 – DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.094502 Published 26 August 2016

http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.094502

# s-tech: a BZ skin for squishy bots

<< The potential to develop “materials that compute” has taken another leap (..) researchers for the first time have demonstrated that the material can be designed to recognize simple patterns. >>

<< This responsive, hybrid material, powered by its own chemical reactions, could one day be integrated into clothing and used to monitor the human body, or developed as a skin for “squishy” robots >>

<< The computations were modeled utilizing Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels, a substance that oscillates in the absence of external stimuli, with an overlaying piezoelectric cantilever. >>

<< This (..) is an example of this groundbreaking shift away from traditional silicon CMOS-based digital computing to a non-von Neumann machine in a polymer substrate, with remarkable low power consumption. >>

Research at Pitt into “materials that compute” advances as engineers demonstrate system performs pattern recognition. Sept 2, 2016.

https://engineering.pitt.edu/News/2016/Anna-Balazs-Materials-That-Compute-Pattern-Recognition/

Yan  Fang , Victor  V.  Yashin ,  et al. Pattern  recognition  with  “materials  that  compute”. Science  Advances   02  Sep 2016: Vol.  2,  no.  9,  e1601114 DOI:  10.1126/sciadv.1601114

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601114

also:

1558-orologio chimico

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2005/04/1558-orologio-chimico.html

# s-acad: scientists can contribute

<< Scientists can contribute to ensuring that the loss of privacy through technology does not result in loss of personal freedom. >>

Christoph Bock. Preserve personal freedom in networked societies. Broad anti-discrimination laws and practices could compensate for failing data protection and technology-linked loss of privacy. 31 August 2016. Nature 537, 9 (01 Sept 2016) doi:10.1038/537009a

http://www.nature.com/news/preserve-personal-freedom-in-networked-societies-1.20510

Also: self awareness, creativity and civil rights

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/05/s-brain-behav-n-socsci-abc-self.html

# s-evol: rapid self-assembly, in shades of orange and green ...

<< Scientists  have  found  what  they  think  is  the  oldest  fossil  on  Earth,  a  remnant  of  life  from  3.7 billion  years  ago  when  Earth's  skies  were  orange  and  its  oceans  green. >>

<< The  discovery  shows  life  may  have  formed  quicker  and  easier  than  once  thought,  about  half  a billion  years  after  Earth  formed.  And  that  may  also  give  hope  for  life  forming  elsewhere,  such as  Mars >>

Seth  Borenstein. Scientists  find  3.7  billion-year-old  fossil,  oldest  yet.  August  31,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-08-scientists-billion-year-old-fossil-oldest.html

AA << report  evidence  for  ancient  life  from  a  newly  exposed  outcrop  of  3,700-Myr-old  metacarbonate  rocks  in  the ISB (Isua  supracrustal  belt, southwest  Greenland)  that  contain  1–4-cm-high  stromatolites— macroscopically  layered  structures  produced  by  microbial communities >>

Allen P. Nutman, Vickie C. Bennett, et al.  Rapid  emergence  of  life  shown  by  discovery  of 3,700-million-year-old  microbial  structures. Nature   (2016)   doi:10.1038/nature19355. Published  online  31  August  2016.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19355.html