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giovedì 29 agosto 2019

# bot: here you can imagine a scenery where tiny bots jump & wing-flapping

AA << have recently designed two insect-scale microbots, one that jumps and another that flaps its artificial wings. These robot designs, (..) mimic real biological behaviors observed in insects. >>

Ingrid Fadelli. New designs for jumping and wing-flapping microrobots. Phys.org. Aug 28, 2019.    https://m.techxplore.com/news/2019-08-wing-flapping-microrobots.html 

Palak Bhushan, Claire Tomlin. An Insect-scale Untethered Laser-powered Jumping Microrobot.  arXiv:1908.03282v1 [cs.RO]  Aug 8,  2019.    https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.03282  

Palak Bhushan, Claire Tomlin. Design of the first sub-milligram flapping wing aerial vehicle.  arXiv:1908.03203v1 [cs.RO] Aug 9, 2019.   https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.03203  

mercoledì 28 agosto 2019

# gst: the creation of giant bubbles is underappreciated in sci res

<< In the pantheon of scientific achievement, the creation of giant soap bubbles is sadly underappreciated. >>

<< "How are such large films created, and how do they remain stable?" ask Frazier (Stephen Frazier) and co. >>

The chemistry behind how you make a record-breaking giant soap bubble.
The art of creating giant bubbles is more mysterious than it seems, but researchers are at last teasing apart the chemistry of thin soapy films. Emerging Technology from the arXiv.  Aug 24, 2019.  
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614181/the-chemistry-behind-how-you-make-a-record-breaking-giant-soap-bubble/      

https://twitter.com/techreview/status/1166167505246871552

Stephen Frazier, Xinyi Jiang, Justin C. Burton. How to make a giant bubble.
arXiv:1908.00537v1 [physics.flu-dyn] Aug 1, 2019. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.00537

FonT

a proposito di generica "creation of giant bubbles", una entita' AI, anche di "media forza", opportunamente orientata per le pulsioni sperimentali, ci giochera' alla grande, io penso ...

Anomalous formation of molecules after vapor deposition. FonT. Dec 31, 2015.   

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2015/12/rmx-s-gst-anomalous-formation-of.html

lunedì 26 agosto 2019

# gst: the hypothesis to optimize multiplicative noise to enhance a signal-to-noise ratio

AA << study simple integrate-and-fire type models with multiplicative noise and consider the transmission of a weak and slow signal, >>

<< The specific question of interest is whether and how the state-dependence of the noise can be optimized with respect to information transmission >>

<< also in a biophysically more relevant situation, multiplicative noise can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (..) results shed light on a so far unexplored aspect of stochastic signal transmission in neural systems. >>

Jonathan Bauermann Benjamin Lindner. Multiplicative noise is beneficial for the transmission of sensory signals in simple neuron models. Biosystems. Volume 178, Apr 2019, Pages 25-31. doi: 10.1016/ j.biosystems.2019.02.002

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303264718303861

sabato 24 agosto 2019

# gst: active drops: from steady to chaotic self-propulsion

<< Individual chemically active drops suspended in a surfactant solution were observed to self-propel spontaneously with straight, helical, or chaotic trajectories. (..) strong advection (e.g., large droplet size) may destabilize a steadily self-propelling drop; once destabilized, the droplet spontaneously stops and a symmetric extensile flow emerges. If advection is strengthened even further in comparison with molecular diffusion, the droplet may perform chaotic oscillations. >>

Matvey Morozov, Sebastien Michelin. Nonlinear dynamics of a chemically-active drop: From steady to chaotic self-propulsion. J. Chem. Phys. 150, 044110 (2019). doi: 10.1063/1.5080539. Jan 31, 2019.  https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5080539



venerdì 23 agosto 2019

# evol: when the dinosaurs died, lichens thrived ...

AA << results imply that multiple historical events during the transition from Mesozoic to Cenozoic eras, including the K-Pg mass extinction event, impacted the evolutionary dynamics in lichen-forming fungi. >>

Jen-Pan Huang, Ekaphan Kraichak, et al.   Accelerated diversifications in three diverse families of morphologically complex lichen-forming fungi link to major historical events. Scientific Reports.  volume 9, Article number: 8518 (2019).   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44881-1  

<< We thought that lichens would be affected negatively, but in the three groups we looked at, they seized the chance and diversified rapidly, (..) Some lichens grow sophisticated 3D structures like plant leaves, and these ones filled the niches of plants that died out. >> Jen-Pang Huang.

When the dinosaurs died, lichens thrived. Mass extinction hurt land plants, but DNA shows that some fungus/plant combo organisms rose up. Field Museum, Academia Sinica, Taipei.  - ScienceDaily. Jun 28, 2019.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190628120432.htm

K-Pg mass extinction event   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event

mercoledì 21 agosto 2019

# gst: tracking tiny particles

<< Kymographs are graphical representations of spatial position over time, which are often used in biology to visualise the motion of fluorescent particles, molecules, vesicles, or organelles moving along a predictable path. >>

AA << developed KymoButler, a Deep Learning-based software to automatically track dynamic processes in kymographs. (They) demonstrate that KymoButler performs as well as expert manual data analysis on kymographs with complex particle trajectories from a variety of different biological systems. >>

Maximilian AH Jakobs, Andrea Dimitracopoulos, Kristian Franze.  KymoButler, a deep learning software for automated kymograph analysis.
eLife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.42288.  Aug 13, 2019.  https://elifesciences.org/articles/42288

<< We hope our tool will prove useful for others involved in analysing small particle movements, whichever field they may work in, >> Kristian Franze

Machine learning tool improves tracking of tiny moving particles. eLife. Aug 13, 2019.   https://m.techxplore.com/news/2019-08-machine-tool-tracking-tiny-particles.html 

mercoledì 14 agosto 2019

# game: inject irrationality into a game scenario; when a player will be their own worst enemy

<< in game theory, a game is defined as any type of scenario where there's an interaction between different decision-makers, or players, each of whom has well-defined preferences. >>

<< previous analyses assume the decision-makers always do what is best for them-they are fully rational-which is not always realistic. >>

<< So SFI Professor David Wolpert and economist Justin Grana, a former SFI postdoctoral scholar, wanted to inject some humanity into the players. They analyzed games with players who were subject to error, or "boundedly rational." >>

<< Our analysis shows that in many of these situations, a player will be their own worst enemy; >> David Wolpert.

Jenna Marshall. How much would you pay to change a game before playing it? Santa Fe Institute. Aug13, 2019.    https://m.phys.org/news/2019-08-game.html  

David Wolpert, Justin Grana. How Much Would You Pay to Change a Game before Playing It? Entropy 2019, 21, 686. doi: 10.3390/ e21070686. July 13, 2019.   https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/21/7/686  

martedì 13 agosto 2019

# gst: early seismic waves could allow to glimpse the power of the main temblor

AA << explore databases of earthquake source time functions and find that they are composed of distinct peaks that (..) call subevents (..) the main event magnitude can be estimated after observing only the first few subevents. >>

Philippe Danre, Jiuxun Yin, et al. Earthquakes Within Earthquakes: Patterns in Rupture Complexity. Geophysical Research Letters. Volume 46, Issue 13. doi: 10.1029/ 2019GL083093. Jun 25, 2019.   https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019GL083093

Anna Fiorentino. Early seismic waves hold the clue to the power of the main temblor. Harvard University. Aug 8, 2019.  https://m.phys.org/news/2019-08-early-seismic-clue-power-main.html  

lunedì 12 agosto 2019

# gst: an approach to delay solitary states within complex networks

AA << present a technique to engineer solitary states by means of delayed links in a network of neural oscillators and in coupled chaotic maps. Solitary states are intriguing partial synchronization patterns, where a synchronized cluster coexists with solitary nodes displaced from this cluster and distributed randomly over the network. >>

<< It is shown that the extent of displacement and the position of solitary elements can be completely controlled by the choice (values) and positions (locations) of the incorporated delays, reshaping the delay engineered solitary states in the network. >>

Leonhard Schulen, Saptarshi Ghosh, et al. Delay engineered solitary states in complex networks. arXiv:1908.01295v1 [nlin.AO] Aug 4, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.01295

sabato 10 agosto 2019

# behav: the sophisticated dance of the sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleonora)

<< Spontaneous movement to music occurs in every human culture and is a foundation of dance. This response to music is absent in most species (including monkeys), yet it occurs in parrots, perhaps because they (like humans, and unlike monkeys) are vocal learners whose brains contain strong auditory–motor connections, conferring sophisticated audiomotor processing abilities. >>

AA << report that a sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleonora) responds to music with remarkably diverse spontaneous movements employing a variety of body parts, and suggest why parrots share this response with humans.  >>

R. Joanne Jao Keehn, John R. Iversen, et al. Spontaneity and diversity of movement to music are not uniquely human. Current Biology. Volume 29, Issue 13, PR621-R622. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.035. Jul 08, 2019.   https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)30604-9  

Ed Yong. Not a Human, but a Dancer. What Snowball the parrot’s spontaneous moves teach us about ourselves. Jul 8, 2019   https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/what-snowball-dancing-parrot-tells-us-about-dance/593428/   

Also

"Dance", in "Notes"

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=dance

"Dance", in "FonT"

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=dance

venerdì 9 agosto 2019

# life: a case of extreme swing (2): "and we will or (vice versa) we won’t"

<< "This is formal impeachment proceedings," Nadler (Jerry Nadler) said in a CNN interview. "We are investigating all the evidence, gathering the evidence. And we will [at the] conclusion of this - hopefully by the end of the year - vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that’s exactly the process we’re in right now." >>

Andrew Desiderio. Nadler: "This is formal impeachment proceedings". Politico. Aug 8, 2019    https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/08/nadler-this-is-formal-impeachment-proceedings-1454360   

Also

a case of extreme swing: clearly "He is not not" or vice versa "He is yes yes" . FonT. May 30, 2019.    https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2019/05/life-case-of-extreme-swing-clearly-is.html

giovedì 8 agosto 2019

# behav: acceptance into non-natal groups of Barbary macaques, showing concern and consolation

Such observations << challenges concerns that only infants and young juveniles may be accepted into non-natal groups, suggesting that even older confiscated juveniles could be candidates for release. This also adds to the literature on behavioural responses to distressed and injured individuals, demonstrating the capacity of wild monkeys to exhibit affiliative behaviours even towards unfamiliar distressed conspecifics, providing a rare example of potential consolation of an unknown individual.  >>

Liz A. D. Campbell. Fostering of a wild, injured, juvenile by a neighbouring group: implications for rehabilitation and release of Barbary macaques confiscated from illegal trade. Primates.  Volume 60, Issue 4, pp 339–345. Jul 2019.    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10329-019-00729-w   

Unprecedented display of concern and 'consolation' toward an unknown monkey offers hope for endangered macaques. University of Oxford. Jul 10, 2019.   https://m.phys.org/news/2019-07-unprecedented-consolation-unknown-monkey-endangered.html  

mercoledì 7 agosto 2019

# game: 'pulsing' Parrondo to jump (and win) between two losing games

<< Parrondo’s paradox, in which losing strategies can be combined to produce winning outcomes, has received much attention in mathematics and the physical sciences; >>

<< In this review paper, the authors examine a large range of recent developments of Parrondo’s paradox in biology, across ecology and evolution, genetics, social and behavioral systems, cellular processes, and disease. >>

Kang Hao Cheong, Jin Ming Koh, Michael C. Jones. Paradoxical Survival: Examining the Parrondo Effect across Biology. BioEssays. Volume 41, Issue 6. doi: 10.1002/bies.201900027. May 27,  2019.   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bies.201900027  

Paradoxical Survival: Examining the Parrondo effect across biology. Singapore University of Technology and Design. Aug 5, 2019.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805134043.htm 

Also

"Parrondo" in: "Notes" & "FonT"

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=parrondo

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=parrondo

venerdì 2 agosto 2019

# gst: dissolve into randomness, the kinetics

AA << have developed mathematical tools that send that shot across the bow-they determine when randomness emerges in any stochastic (random) system, answering a long-standing question: When does randomness set in during a random walk? >>

<< We are trying to describe an effect as exactly as possible irrespective of the cause. >> Rajan K. Chakrabarty

<< physicists normally solve problems by mathematically describing a cause and effect and marrying the two for a solution. But this new tool cares nothing about the cause, only about mathematically capturing the effect. >>

Tony Fitzpatrick. New tools reveal prelude to chaos. Washington University in St. Louis. Jun 6, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-tools-reveal-prelude-chaos.html  

Pai Liu, William R. Heinson, et al. Establishing the kinetics of ballistic-to-diffusive transition using directional statistics. Phys. Rev. E 97, 042102. Apr 4, 2018.

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.97.042102  

giovedì 1 agosto 2019

# ecol: a umbrella coordination; the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx)

<<  Researchers plan to spray sunlight-reflecting particles into the stratosphere, an approach that could ultimately be used to quickly lower the planet’s temperature. >>

<< The idea is simple: spray a bunch of particles into the stratosphere, and they will cool the planet by reflecting some of the Sun’s rays back into space. >>

<< The first phase - a US$3-million test involving two flights of a steerable balloon 20 kilometres above the southwest United States — could launch as early as the first half of 2019. Once in place, the experiment would release small plumes of calcium carbonate, each of around 100 grams, roughly equivalent to the amount found in an average bottle of off-the-shelf antacid. The balloon would then turn around to observe how the particles disperse. >>

<< The SCoPEx team’s initial stratospheric experiments will focus on calcium carbonate, which is expected to absorb less heat than sulfates and to have less impact on ozone. But textbook answers - and even Dai’s (Zhen Dai) tabletop device - can’t capture the full picture. “We actually don’t know what it would do, because it doesn’t exist in the stratosphere,” Keutsch (Frank Keutsch) says. “That sets up a red flag.” >>

Jeff Tollefson. First sun-dimming experiment will test a way to cool Earth. Nature. Nov 27, 2018; Correction Nov 30, 2018.   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07533-4  

<< SCoPEx is a scientific experiment to advance understanding of stratospheric aerosols that could be relevant to solar geoengineering. >>

SCoPEx. Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment. Keutsch Research Group. Harvard University. 12 Oxford Street. Cambridge, MA 02138   https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/keutschgroup/scopex