# esobio: #ufo, this phenomenon was a lot more than nuts and bolts machines ...

<< The investigative "I-Team" for CBS affiliate KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, NV has brought forward new documents related to the secret Pentagon UFO program first revealed by the New York Times in December. >>

<< The investigations by BAASS (Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies) provided new lines of evidence showing that the UFO phenomenon was a lot more than nuts and bolts machines that interacted with military aircraft (..) The phenomenon also involved a whole panoply of diverse activity that included bizarre creatures, poltergeist activity, invisible entities, orbs of light, animal and human injuries and much more. >>

Andrew Whalen. Pentagon's Secret UFO Program Investigated Poltergeist  Connection To Alien Mystery. Newsweek. May 29, 2018.

http://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-ufo-program-disclosure-aliens-poltergeist-top-secret-bigelow-948051

Ralph Blumenthal. On the Trail of a Secret Pentagon U.F.O. Program. Dec 18, 2017.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/insider/secret-pentagon-ufo-program.html

Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, Leslie Kean.  Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program. Dec 16, 2017.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html

Dave Roos. How Do You Become a Ufologist? Jun 11, 2018

https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/do-become-ufologist.htm

<< I'm not surprised that the Pentagon's UFO program looked at poltergeist activity (..)  >> Nick Pope. May 29, 2018

https://twitter.com/nickpopemod/status/1001557546128179201

# behav: the social / antisocial flexibility of yellow-bellied marmots (M. flaviventer)

<< Humans in strong social relationships are more likely to live longer because social relationships may buffer stressors and thus have protective effects. However, a shortcoming of human studies is that they often rely on self-reporting of these relationships. >>

AA << focused on socially flexible yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) and asked whether female longevity covaries with the specific nature of social relationships. >>

AA << found a significant negative phenotypic correlation between affiliative social relationship strength and longevity; marmots with greater degree, closeness and those with a greater negative average shortest path length died at younger ages. >>

<< sociality plays an important role in longevity, but how it does so may depend on whether a species is obligately or facultatively social. >>

Daniel T. Blumstein, Dana M. Williams, et al.   Strong social relationships are associated with decreased longevity in a facultatively social mammal. Proc Royal Soc B. Biol Sci. Jan 17, 2018. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1934.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1871/20171934

Douglas Quenqua. Being Antisocial Leads to a Longer Life. For Marmots. NYTimes. Jan. 17, 2018.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/science/marmots-antisocial-lifespan.html

# acad: Prometheus vs Pandora interplay

<< Some of the most important rules we need to discover are about how to use technology and, just as importantly, how not to use it. >>

<< The great institutional economist Clarence Ayres wrote about how technology becomes incorporated into our lives in a way that is roughly equivalent to the way tribal societies use totems to interact with each other. >>

<< Every inventor is both a Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, and a Pandora unwittingly releasing a swarm of potential evils on the world. The competition of ideas between hype and doomsaying allows us to discover helpful rules which deal with both. >>

<< Technology doesn't come with a ready-made rulebook for how to use it. We have to discover this in a process of trial, error and argument. And for this the doomsayer is just as vital as the visionary. >>

Brendan Markey-Towler. Doomsaying about new technology helps make it better. Jun 21, 2018.

https://theconversation.com/doomsaying-about-new-technology-helps-make-it-better-98623  

# life: Hopeful Entities are waiting at La Martella Railway Station

La Martella Railway Station, Ferrandina, Matera, Italy, 2017.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/slideshow/2018/06/25/t-magazine/italys-abandoned-buildings-in-photographs/s/14tmag-sicily-slide-EKIB.html  

Merrell Hambleton. An Ode to Italy's Absurdly Beautiful Modern Ruins. NYT. Jun 25, 2018.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/t-magazine/travel/italy-sicily-unfinished-architecture-ruins-photos.html

# gene: the genetic stochastic kernel inside A. asiatica

AA << report the first example of dual coding: Ascoidea asiatica stochastically encodes CUG as both serine and leucine in approximately equal proportions >>

Stefanie Muhlhausen, Hans Dieter Schmitt, et al.  Endogenous Stochastic Decoding of the CUG Codon by Competing Ser- and Leu- tRNAs in Ascoidea asiatica. Current Biology 28, 1–12 Jul 9, 2018 doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.085

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30557-8

Microbe breaks 'universal' DNA rule by using two different translations. University of Bath. Jun 14, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-microbe-universal-dna.html

# life: i tremiti (vortici?) previsionali di Giancarlo, by Alessandra Paola

<< Giancarlo Giorgetti, sottosegretario di Palazzo Chigi nel governo di Giuseppe Conte, pare abbia detto ai leghisti presenti nell' esecutivo di tenere una foto di Matteo Renzi come monito sulla scrivania. Per non dimenticare che quattro anni fa il Pd aveva conseguito il 40%, pari a 11 milioni di voti, alle elezioni europee >>

SOGNO O SONDAGGIO? PARLA PAOLA GHISLERI (..). Dagospia. 21.06.2018.

http://m.dagospia.com/salvini-la-lega-che-cresce-fi-e-pd-privi-di-strategie-berlusconi-fede-parla-paola-ghisleri-176827

# gst: to model a system that can "collapse without warning"

<< Volcanoes progressively weaken and may collapse without warning through hydrothermal alteration. These dangerous mass wasting processes occur less-frequently than eruptions or lahars but the resultant mass flows can be large in size, posing risk to local residents, and businesses. >>

<< Collapses are often multi-hazard events, with even small-scale landslides capable of triggering eruptions or creating break-out lahars. >>

<< These kind of events demonstrated the greater need to understand and assess this process >>

Gabor Kereszturi. Modelling volcanoes that "collapse without warning". Massey University. Jun 21, 2018.

http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=972F6ACF-2667-451E-BDCC-2CC37FD26056

# health: International Classification of Diseases #ICD11, with the traditional medicine package included

<< For the first time, traditional medicine is included in the International Classification of Diseases #ICD11, which allows it to be better counted. >> Jun 18, 2018 05:06

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1008727563001266176

http://www.who.int/health-topics/international-classification-of-diseases

https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en

# gene: newtic1 to regenerate limbs

<< The newt, a group of urodele amphibians, has outstanding ability to repeatedly regenerate various body parts >>

<< In this animal, when the limb is amputated, a cell mass named the blastema appears on the stump and eventually gives rise to a new functional limb >>

AA << identified an orphan gene Newtic1, whose transcripts significantly increased in the blastema. Newtic1 was expressed in a subset of erythrocytes that formed a novel clump (EryC) >>

<< When the limb was amputated, EryCs were newly generated in the stump and accumulated into a distal portion of the growing blastema. >>

Roman M. Casco-Robles, Akihiko Watanabe, et al. Novel erythrocyte clumps revealed by an orphan gene Newtic1 in circulating blood and regenerating limbs of the adult newt. Scientific Reports. 8 (7455). May 10, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25867-x

Novel gene in red blood cells may help adult newts regenerate limbs. University of Tsukuba. Jun 5, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-gene-red-blood-cells-adult.html

Also

# gene: the ability of the newt to safely regenerate parts of itself. Dic 30, 2017

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2017/12/gene-ability-of-newt-to-safely.html

# geo: low frequency sounds that resemble the shape of the tornillo seismic waves

AA << characterize and interpret a new type of infrasound signal originating from the summit of Volcán Cotopaxi (Ecuador) >>

<< This infrasound waveform is a slowly decaying sinusoid with exceptional low‐frequency (..) and high quality factor (..) and resembles the shape of tornillo seismic waveforms. >>

Johnson JB,  Ruiz MC, et al. Infrasound Tornillos Produced by Volcán Cotopaxi's Deep Crater. Geophysical Research Letters. doi: 10.1029/2018GL077766. Jun 13,  2018.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018GL077766

Volcano music could help scientists monitor eruptions. American Geophysical Union. Jun 15, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-volcano-music-scientists-eruptions.html

# archeol: on the ancient turquoise

<< turquoise used by the Aztecs and Mixtecs likely derives from Mesoamerican sources and was not acquired through long-distance exchange with the Southwest >>

Alyson M. Thibodeau, Leonardo Lopez Lujan, et al. Was Aztec and Mixtec turquoise mined in the American Southwest?  Science Advances. Jun 13,  2018; 4 (6), eaas9370. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aas9370

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaas9370

<< This work revises our understanding of these relatively rare objects and provides a new perspective on the availability of turquoise, which was a highly valued luxury resource in ancient Mesoamerica >>

<< These findings potentially re-shape our understanding of both the nature and extent of long-distance contacts between Mesoamerican and Southwestern societies (..) I hope this inspires people to be skeptical of claims >> Alyson Thibodeau.

New research unveils true origin of ancient turquoise. Dickinson College. Jun 13, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-unveils-true-ancient-turquoise.html

# gst: Sustainability, Die-off, Collapse, Oscillation: 4 classes of traject. to depict interactions of a resource-intensive tech species with its host planet.

AA << have used the formalism of dynamical systems theory to explore a highly simplified model for the interaction of a resource-intensive technological species with its host planet. >>

AA << find four distinct classes of trajectories (..)

Sustainability: For these classes, stable equilibria (..) exist which can be approached monotonically. The population rises smoothly to a steady-state value. The planetary environment is monotonically perturbed from its initial value e0 and reaches a new steady state that can support a large population.

Die-off: For these classes, stable equilibria (..) exist which cannot be approached monotonically. The population overshoots the environment's carrying capacity, reaches a peak, and is forced to decline as the environment reaches its new steady state.

Collapse: For these classes, stable equilibria with nonzero population do not exist. In these cases the population experiences a rapid decline after reaching its peak value. It is noteworthy that collapse can occur even though the population has begun leveling off due to the civilization's switching from high-impact to low-impact energy modalities.

Oscillation: In this class, a stable limit cycle exists rather than an equilibrium. The population and the planetary environment cycle between high and low values. >>

Frank A, Carroll-Nellenback Jonathan, et al. The Anthropocene Generalized: Evolution of Exo-Civilizations and Their Planetary Feedback. Astrobiology. 18 (5), May 1, 2018. doi: 10.1089/ast.2017.1671.

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2017.1671

Alien apocalypse: Can any civilization make it through climate change? University of Rochester. Jun 5, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-alien-apocalypse-civilization-climate.html

# brain: understanding of zero even among honey bees

AA << trained individual honey bees to the numerical concepts of "greater than" or "less than" using stimuli containing one to six elemental features. Bees could subsequently extrapolate the concept of less than to order zero numerosity at the lower end of the numerical continuum. Bees demonstrated an understanding that parallels animals such as the African grey parrot, nonhuman primates, and even preschool children. >>

Scarlett R Howard, Aurore Avargues-Weber, et al. Numerical Ordering of Zero in Honey Bees. Science, 360 (6393), 1124-1126. 2018 Jun 8. doi: 10.1126/science.aar4975.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pubmed/29880690-numerical-ordering-of-zero-in-honey-bees/

FonT

questa news la devo a mia moglie Tamara, anche lei pulsatile nomade di labirinti ...

 

# ai: open source AI projects

<< The Linux Foundation has published a free ebook by Ibrahim Haddad examining popular open source AI projects, including Acumos AI, Apache Spark, Caffe, TensorFlow, and others. >>

<< "It is increasingly common to see AI as open source projects,” Haddad said. And, “as with any technology where talent premiums are high, the network effects of open source are very strong.” >>

Amber Ankerholz. Free Ebook Offers Insight on 16 Open Source AI Projects. May 22, 2018.

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/free-ebook-offers-insight-on-16-open-source-ai-projects/   

# drugs: the sweet side of a snake venom (B. jararaca)

AA << report on the sweet side of snake venom toxins >>

<< most proteins in lancehead venom are modified with glycans, which can affect the proteins' folding, stability and binding >>

<< Glycans containing sialic acid may help in venom solubility and increase toxin half-life >>

<< Sialic acid on a toxic enzyme may also bind to host proteins called siglecs [sialic acid-binding Ig superfamily  lectins], pulling the enzyme closer to target cells for greater effect >>

How just drops of viper venom pack a deadly punch. Am Soc for Biochem and Molec Biol. Jun 1, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-viper-venom-deadly.html

Debora Andrade-Silva, David Ashline, et al. Structures of N-Glycans of Bothrops venoms revealed as molecular signatures that contribute to venom phenotype in viperid snakes. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. doi: 10.1074/mcp.RA118.000748 mcp.RA118.000748. May 1, 2018.

http://m.mcponline.org/content/early/2018/04/30/mcp.RA118.000748

# life: if your next interviewer will be a bot named Vera

<< You have a telephone interview for your dream job, and you're feeling nervous. You make yourself a cup of tea as you wait for the phone to ring, and you count to three before picking up. Now imagine that your interviewer is a robot named Vera. >>

Julie Jammot. Interview with a robot: AI revolution hits human resources. Apr 27, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-robot-ai-revolution-human-resources.html

FonT

Intrigante un ipotetico AI bot in grado di modulare le interviste allo scopo di  calcolare "in tempo reale" parametri psicologici, di validita' e affidabilita' delle informazioni raccolte da ogni singolo intervistato, anche nell'ambito di sondaggi politici ...

# gst: deep, super-resolution vistas through tiny tornadoes of magnetized plasma

<< To get the extremely high-resolution images vital to study new materials, microbes, and more, scientists often build microscopes based on optical vortices. >>

AA << devised a way to make optical vortices with 1000 times more power than previous methods. Their design uses strong, nonuniform magnetic fields to control plasmas, or ionized gases, to create the vortices. >>

US Department of Energy. Magnetized plasmas that twist light can produce powerful microscopes and more. May 7, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-05-magnetized-plasmas-powerful-microscopes.html

Kenan Qu, Qing Jia, Nathaniel J. Fisch. Plasma q-plate for generation and manipulation of intense optical vortices. Phys. Rev. E 96, 053207.  doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.053207. Nov 28, 2017.

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.053207

# gst: Brownian motion from trading

<< The kinetic theory of molecules, involving many collisions between particles, leads to the emergence of physical Brownian motion. By generalizing the kinetic framework, the study showed the emergence of financial Brownian motion from decisions made by individual traders. >>

Tokyo Institute of Technology. The physics of finance helps solve a century-old mystery. Mar 29, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-03-physics-century-old-mystery.html

AA << model is the first microscopic model that has been directly validated through data analysis of the microscopic dynamics, exhibiting quantitative agreements with mesoscopic and macroscopic empirical results. >>

Kiyoshi Kanazawa, Takumi Sueshige, et al.  Derivation of the Boltzmann Equation for Financial Brownian Motion: Direct Observation of the Collective Motion of High-Frequency Traders.   Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 13830. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.138301. Mar 27, 2018.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.138301