# brain: the memory switch p75NTR

<< many molecular and environmental factors have been studied to understand how synaptic plasticity is modulated. Sleep, as an evolutionary conserved biological function, has shown to be a critical player for the consolidation and filtering of synaptic circuitry underlying memory traces. Although sleep disturbances do not alter normal memory consolidation, they may reflect fundamental circuit malfunctions that can play a significant role in exacerbating diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer's disease. (..) This paper will review the role of the p75NTR (p75 neurotrophic receptor), critically discuss the impact and implications of this research as the bridge for sleep research and neurological diseases.>>

Shen Ning, Mehdi Jorfi. p75NTR as a Molecular Memory Switch.  arXiv: 1912.11449v1 [q-bio.NC]. Dec 24, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11449

# pharma: a 'magical' (engineered) Escherichia coli to produce psychedelic psilocybin

<< Psilocybin, the prodrug of the psychoactive molecule psilocin, has demonstrated promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of addiction, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.  >>

AA << present the development of a modular biosynthetic production platform in the model microbe, Escherichia coli. (..) This is the highest psilocybin titer achieved to date from a recombinant organism and a significant step towards demonstrating the feasibility of industrial production of biologically-derived psilocybin. >>

Alexandra M.Adams, Nicholas A.Kaplan, et al. In vivo production of psilocybin in E. coli. Metabolic Engineering. Volume 56, pages 111-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.09.009. Sep 21, 2019.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109671761930309X

Tanya Lewis. E. coli Could Produce a Popular Psychedelic for Therapeutic Use. Scientists engineered the bacterium to produce psilocybin. SCIAM. 322, 1, 16. Jan 2020.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/e-coli-could-produce-a-popular-psychedelic-for-therapeutic-use/

Also

keyword 'magic' in FonT

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

# gst: scrambling does not necessitate chaos.

<< Focusing on semiclassical systems, (AA) show that the parametrically long exponential growth of out-of-time order correlators (OTOCs), also known as scrambling, does not necessitate chaos. Indeed, scrambling can simply result from the presence of unstable fixed points in phase space, even in an integrable model. >>

Tianrui Xu, Thomas Scaffidi, Xiangyu Cao. Does scrambling equal chaos? arXiv:1912.11063v1 [cond-mat.stat-mech] Dec 23, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11063

# phys: three forms of ambiguity in the definition of entanglement

<< A more general definition (of entanglement) was published by Thaller, (B. Thaller, Advanced Visual Quantum Mechanics, (Springer 2005) p218) "A state of a compound system is called entangled if it cannot be written as a single tensor product of subsystem states. A state in the product form is called unentangled or separable."  >>

The paper << discusses experiments with single-particle systems, some of whose states appear to be entangled. (..) Three forms of ambiguity are discussed. The choice of state-space and its dimensions is a matter of taste. There is not an a-priori natural partitioning of the state-space. The observables are not necessarily experimentally accessible and only determined by theory-laden extrapolation from experimental results. >>

Robert Shaw. Single-particle entanglement and three forms of ambiguity. arXiv:1912.11349v1 [physics.hist-ph]. Dec 22, 2019

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11349

# life: squeezing jaraca' (Bothrops jararaca)

<< Dozens of poisonous snake species, including the jararaca, thrive in Brazil's hot and humid climate. >>

<< Venom is extracted from each snake once a month in a delicate and potentially dangerous process. >>

Brazil milks deadly snakes for their life-saving venom.  Dec 10, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-brazil-deadly-snakes-life-saving-venom.html

# behav: backward walking, navigational uncertainties (among Cataglyphis velox)

<< Current opinion in insect navigation assumes that animals need to align with the goal direction to recognise familiar views and approach it. Yet, ants sometimes drag heavy food items backward to the nest and it is still unclear to what extent they rely on visual memories while doing so. >>

<< ants do indeed recognise and use the learnt visual scenery to guide their path while walking backward. In addition, the results show that backward homing ants estimate their directional certainty by combining visual familiarity with other cues such as their path integrator and the time spent backward. >>

Sebastian Schwarz, Leo Clement, et al.  How do backward walking ants (Cataglyphis velox) cope with navigational uncertainty? doi: 10.1101/2019.12.16.877704. Dec 17, 2019.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2019.12.16.877704v1

# life: a case of extreme swing (3): he's impeachable/ impeached, or (maybe) not

<< Now that the House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump, what is the constitutional status of the two articles of impeachment? Must they be transmitted to the Senate to trigger a trial, or could they be held back by the House until the Senate decides what the trial will look like, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has hinted?  The Constitution doesn’t say how fast the articles must go to the Senate. Some modest delay is not inconsistent with the Constitution, or how both chambers usually work. >>

<< Strictly speaking, "impeachment" occurred – and occurs - when the articles of impeachment are presented to the Senate for trial. And at that point, the Senate is obliged by the Constitution to hold a trial. >>

Noah Feldman. Trump Isn’t Impeached Until the House Tells the Senate

According to the Constitution, impeachment is a process, not a vote.  Dec 19,  2019. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2019-12-19/trump-impeachment-delay-could-be-serious-problem-for-democrats

Also

"extreme swing" in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=extreme+swing

# gst: the complex dynamics of a transition

<< The transition state is a central concept of chemistry (..) Everything we think about in reactions really hinges on the structure of the transition state, which we cannot directly observe. >> Robert Field.

<< there are two different mechanisms competing for transition states, >>

<< there are additional reaction mechanisms beyond those two, >>

Chemists glimpse the fleeting 'transition state' of a reaction. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dec 16, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-chemists-glimpse-fleeting-transition-state.html

# gst: a hexagonal pattern of six cyclones (Jupiter, by NASA)

<< In this annotated infrared image, six cyclones form a hexagonal pattern around a central cyclone at Jupiter's south pole. The image was generated from data collected by NJASA’s Juno spacecraft on Nov. 4, 2019 >>

Tony Greicius. NASA's Juno Navigators Enable Jupiter Cyclone Discovery.  Dec. 13, 2019. 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-juno-navigators-enable-jupiter-cyclone-discovery

A New Cyclone Joins the Jovian Fray.  NASA. Dec 12, 2019. 

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA23558

# life: oops! trust in (British) politics

<< In previous British elections, to say that trust was the main issue would have meant simply that trust is the trump card – whichever leader or party could secure most trust would win. Now, the emerging question about trust is whether it even matters anymore. >>

<< Even many Labour voters don’t rate their leader as trustworthy. Neil Hall/EPA >>

<< These are moral judgements of the utmost significance. So it suggests that British democracy is in some moral jeopardy, when the leaders of the two major parties, the only likely candidates for the premiership, were rated so low on trustworthiness by the public, including supporters of their own party. For example, according to one YouGov poll, 53% of respondents thought Johnson untrustworthy, while for Corbyn the figure was 57%. (..) These figures suggest not only seriously depleted trust but also a substantial readiness amongst voters to separate trustworthiness from electability.  (..) A lack of trustable people creates insecurity, and in this anxious environment some people will want to convince themselves, whatever the evidence, that they have found a trustworthy leader.  (..) On that front, the most significant outcome may not be the seats won by the competing parties, but the national profile as expressed in the popular vote, and what it tells us about whether trust matters. >>

Barry Richards. We should look closely at Britain’s decision to elect a man so renowned for his untrustworthiness. 

Bournemouth University. Dec 13, 2019. 

https://theconversation.com/we-should-look-closely-at-britains-decision-to-elect-a-man-so-renowned-for-his-untrustworthiness-128733

<< Johnson is regularly accused of hiding who he really is, but maybe that’s not actually the case at all. He has left enough clues along the way for us to build a picture of the man he is – and the British public has decided they are fine with it. >>

Laura Hood. Boris Johnson’s big election victory: academics on what it means for the UK and Brexit. Dec13, 2019.

https://theconversation.com/boris-johnsons-big-election-victory-academics-on-what-it-means-for-the-uk-and-brexit-128850

# life: JARexit Flight Dynamics ...

keyword "JARexit" in FonT

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

"1878-onda ricorsiva"

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2005/09/1878-onda-ricorsiva.html

Also

harmonica flight, by Michael Stipe ("Bad Day", time 10:15)  in: R.E.M. - June 3 2005 - Rockpalast - Rock am Ring - Nürburg Germany  

https://youtu.be/rD9BSKNcn0g

# behav: a great white shark at rest

<< Great white sharks are known for racing past the Mid-Atlantic states to get someplace else, so experts pay attention in rare cases when one not only stops, but stays put.

That's happening now along the Virginia-North Carolina border with a 10-foot, 3-inch male tracked by OCEARCH.

"It's interesting watching white shark Shaw since unlike other sharks on the Tracker, he has been hanging out off the Virginia coast for over a month," OCEARCH posted Tuesday on Facebook. >>

Mark Price. Experts puzzled as 10-foot great white shark stays a month in one spot off East Coast.  Dec 10, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-experts-puzzled-foot-great-white.html

Ocearch. Dec 4, 2019

https://m.facebook.com/OCEARCH/posts/10162443074005167

Also

The long (and slow) life of Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). Aug 16, 2016. 

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/08/s-ageing-long-and-slow-life-of.html

# game: apropos of perpetual hack, to bypass 'lizard' brains with a Tit-for-Tat approach

<< In (..) lizard brain, (..) "cheating" was really just "retaliation." >>

<< Where do we go from here?

Is there a way to break this cycle? >>

<<  For no matter how viscerally satisfying and rational it may appear to operate in a never-ending tit-for-tat spiral, in the long run, cooperation pays >>  

Niels Rosenquist.  How Tit-for-Tat Game Theory Hacked Politics. Jun 10, 2019. 

https://thebulwark.com/how-tit-for-tat-game-theory-has-hacked-politics/

FonT

a "catapulting" approach to bypass "lizard" brains: 

1668 - ramificata tinnula (di carmina fluitantia). Jun 9, 2005.

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2005/06/1668-ramificata-tinnula-di-carmina.html

More

keyword "tit-for-tat" in FonT:

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=tit-for-tat

keyword "tit-for-tat" in Notes:

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=tit-for-tat

# gst: apropos of clogging and jamming, they are not really jammed, they move steadily, if slowly, downwards

<< The first study of the way logs become pinned in rivers reveals that those seemingly trapped in a logjam move steadily, if slowly, downriver. >>

<< One of the lesser-known consequences of forest fires is logjams—river channels clogged with wood. The mechanism is straightforward. Forest fires create vast areas of dead wood. During the winter, heavy snow leads to avalanches that push thousands of the burned logs to the bottom of river valleys, where they enter the water. When the logs stretch across the river, from bank to bank, the river can no longer flow. It is this formation that has long captured the public imagination: the word "logjam" has come to mean a situation in which movement, physical or otherwise, is impossible. >>

Logjams aren’t really jammed at all, say geoscientists. Tech Rev - Emerging Technology from the arXiv. Nov 19, 2019

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614724/logjams-arent-really-jammed-at-all-say-geoscientists/

Nakul S. Deshpande, Benjamin T. Crosby. Logjams are not jammed: measurements of log motions in Big Creek, Idaho. arXiv:1911.01518v1 [physics.geo-ph]. Nov 4, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.01518

# brain AI bots: a hypothetical model for exploratory bots, the pulsating perceptions of mantis shrimps

AA << examined the neuronal organization of mantis shrimp, which are among the top predatory animals of coral reefs and other shallow warm water environments. >>

They << discovered a region of the mantis shrimp brain they called the reniform ("kidney-shaped") body. The discovery sheds new light on how the crustaceans may process and integrate visual information with other sensory input. >>

<< Mantis shrimp sport the most complex visual system of any living animal. They are unique in that they have a pair of eyes that move independently of each other, each with stereoscopic vision and possessing a band of photoreceptors that can distinguish up to 12 different wavelengths as well as linear and circular polarized light.  >>

<< One of the study's crucial findings was that neural connections link the reniform bodies to centers called mushroom bodies, iconic structures of arthropod brains that are required for olfactory learning and memory. >>

<< The fact that we were now able to demonstrate that the reniform body is also connected to the mushroom body and provides information to it, suggests that olfactory processing may take place in the context of already established visual memories, >> Nicholas Strausfeld.

How mantis shrimp make sense of the world. University of Arizona.  Nov 25, 2019. 

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-11-mantis-shrimp-world.html

Hanne Halkinrud Thoen, Gabriella Hannah Wolff, et al. The reniform body: An integrative lateral protocerebral neuropil complex of Eumalacostraca identified in Stomatopoda and Brachyura. Journal of Comparative Neurology. doi: 10.1002/cne.24788. Oct 16, 2019.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cne.24788

FonT

these neural models could be reproduced for "compassionate" (or even "bonobos") bots, but NEVER for "nfulaw" purposes, please

keyword  "nfulaw" in FonT

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