# life: a normal (fuzzy, bizarre) Nature jumping, the little carrier snake that can bite a world ...

<<  Reports indicate that snakes were sold in the local seafood market in Wuhan, raising the possibility that the 2019-nCoV might have jumped from the host species - bats - to snakes and then to humans at the beginning of this coronavirus outbreak. However, how the virus could adapt to both the cold-blooded and warm-blooded hosts remains a mystery. >>

Haitao Guo, Guangxiang “George” Luo, Shou-Jiang Gao. Snakes could be the original source of the new coronavirus outbreak in China. Jan 22, 2020.

https://theconversation.com/snakes-could-be-the-original-source-of-the-new-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china-130364

Wei Ji, Wei Wang, et al. Homologous recombination within the spike glycoprotein of the newly identified coronavirus may boost cross‐species transmission from snake to human. Journal of Medical Virology. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25682. Jan 22, 2020.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmv.25682

Also

here a Brazilian 'relative' of the Chinese snake ...

# life: squeezing jaraca' (Bothrops jararaca). FonT. Dec 24, 2019. 

https://twitter.com/flashontrack/status/1209527656091402243

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2019/12/life-squeezing-jaraca-bothrops-jararaca.html

# phys: nature does not always respect symmetry, the hypothesis

<< Physicists have been looking for laws that explain both the microscopic world of elementary particles and the macroscopic world of the universe and the Big Bang at its beginning, expecting that such fundamental laws should have symmetry in all circumstances. However, last year, two physicists found a theoretical proof that, at the most fundamental level, nature does not respect symmetry. >>

<< To try to understand gravity on the quantum level, Hirosi Ooguri, (..) and Daniel Harlow, (..) started with the holographic principle. This principle explains three-dimensional phenomena influenced by gravity on a two-dimensional flat space that is not influenced by gravity.  >>

<< The researchers showed that symmetry only affects the shaded regions in the diagram, not around the spot in the middle, thus there cannot be global symmetry.  >>

Motoko Kakubayashi. Gravity: We might have been getting it wrong this whole time. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe. Jan 24, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-gravity-wrong.html

Daniel Harlow, Hirosi Ooguri. Constraints on Symmetries from Holography. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 191601. doi: 10.1103/ PhysRevLett.122.191601. May 17, 2019.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.191601

Daniel Harlow, Hirosi Ooguri. Symmetries in quantum field theory and quantum gravity. arXiv: 1810.05338v2 [hep-th]. Jun 6, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.05338

# gst: self‐assembly of porous, chiral nano-patterns from simple building blocks.

<< Using a simple rod-like building block with hydroxamic acids at both ends scientists (..) created self- assembling porous, chiral nano structures.  >>

<< Like our left and right hands, the shape of two mirrored cage structures cannot be superimposed. Since the 19th century, academics have characterized this type of object symmetry as 'chiral,' from the ancient Greek meaning 'hand.' These kinds of molecules are frequently found in natural compounds. Chirality influences interactions of polarized light and magnetic properties and plays a vital role in life.  For example, our olfactory receptors react very differently to the two mirror images of the limonene molecule: one smells like lemon, the other like pine. This so-called chiral recognition is a process that can determine whether a molecule acts as medicine or poison. >>

Complex, porous, chiral nano-patterns arise from a simple linear building blocks. Technical University Munich. Jan 16, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-complex-porous-chiral-nano-patterns-simple.html

<< Regrettably (in this specific experimental context), the end groups proved to be elusive >>

Chao Jing,  Bodong Zhang, et al. Snapshots of Dynamic Adaptation: Two‐Dimensional Molecular Architectonics with Linear Bis‐Hydroxamic Acid Modules. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Volume 58, Issue 52. doi: 10.1002/anie.201912247. Oct 31, 2019. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.201912247

Also

keyword 'chiral' in FonT

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

# bots: xenobot (from Xenopus laevis), the first living, programmable organism

<< A remarkable combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and biology has produced the world’s first "living robots".  (..) The term "xeno" comes from the frog cells (Xenopus laevis) used to make them. >>

<< One of the researchers described the creation as "neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal", but a "new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism". >>

<< Xenobots are less than 1mm long and made of 500-1000 living cells. They have various simple shapes, including some with squat "legs". They can propel themselves in linear or circular directions, join together to act collectively, and move small objects. Using their own cellular energy, they can live up to 10 days. >>

Simon Coghlan, Kobi Leins. Not bot, not beast: scientists create first ever living, programmable organism. University of Melbourne. Jan 19, 2020.

https://theconversation.com/not-bot-not-beast-scientists-create-first-ever-living-programmable-organism-129980

Sam Kriegman, Douglas Blackiston, et al. A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910837117.  Jan 13, 2020

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/01/07/1910837117

Also

keyword 'bots' in FonT

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

# behav: walking with turning

<< Normal human locomotion in daily life involves walking with turning, not just straight line walking. (..) the metabolic rate while walking in circles increases with decreasing radius for fixed speed. (..) this increase in energy cost for turning has behavioral implications >>

<< to save energy, (..) humans should walk slower in smaller circles, slow down when path curvature increases when traveling along more complex curves, turn in place around a particular optimal angular speed, and avoid sharp turns but use smooth gentle turns while navigating around obstacles or while needing to turn while walking. >>

Geoffrey L. Brown, Nidhi Seethapathi, Manoj Srinivasan. Walking with turning: energy optimality explains walking behavior while turning and path planning. arXiv: 2001.02287v1 [q-bio.NC]. Jan 7, 2020.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.02287

# gst: irregular sampling design to address behaviours

<< Animal movement studies have become ubiquitous in animal ecology for the estimation of space use and the analysis of movement behavior. In these studies, animal movement data are primarily collected at regular time intervals. (AA) propose an irregular sampling design that could lead to greater efficiency and information gain in animal movement studies. (The) novel sampling design, called lattice and random intermediate point (LARI), combines samples at regular and random time intervals. >>

<<  in each of the data and simulation examples explored in this paper, LARI sampling results in more accurate and precise parameter estimation and, thus, better prediction of missing data as well.  >>

Elizabeth Eisenhauer,  Ephraim Hanks. A lattice and random intermediate point sampling design for animal movement. Environmetrics. doi: 10.1002/env.2618. Jan 3, 2020.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/env.2618

Gail McCormick. Including irregular time intervals improves animal movement studies. Pennsylvania State University. Jan 15, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-irregular-intervals-animal-movement.html

Also

keyword "pause" in Notes

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

keyword "pause" in FonT

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

# lang: huru (freeman) by CLICS - database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications

keyword 'huru' (freeman) in CLICS

https://clics.clld.org/valuesets/wold-Swahili-384

https://clics.clld.org/parameters/384#0/25/18

<< Every language has cases in which two or more concepts are expressed by the same word, (..) Building on the new guidelines for standardized data formats in cross-linguistic research, which were first presented in 2018, the CLICS team was able to increase the amount of data from 300 language varieties and 1200 concepts in the original database to 3156 language varieties and 2906 concepts in the current installation. >>

CLICS: World's largest database of cross-linguistic lexical associations. Max Planck Society. Jan 13, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-clics-world-largest-database-cross-linguistic.html

Christoph Rzymski, Tiago Tresoldi, et al. The Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications, reproducible analysis of cross-linguistic polysemies. Scientific Data. Volume 7, Article number: 13. Jan 13,  2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-019-0341-x

# gst: a concrete image, chirality by dissipation, 'this effect actually owes its existence to dissipation'

<< Normally, dissipation alters or weakens existing quantum effects-but here we have an effect that actually owes its existence to dissipation, >>  Tilman Esslinger

<< "No scientist thinks in formulae," Albert Einstein allegedly once told his colleague Leopold Infeld. In fact, especially for physicists, who deal with such abstract things as quantum physics, it is often immensely useful to work with concrete images rather than mathematical symbols. >>

Oliver Morsch. Unexpected twist in a quantum system. ETH Zurich.  Jan 10, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-unexpected-quantum.html

Nishant Dogra, Manuele Landini, et al.  Dissipation-induced structural instability and chiral dynamics in a quantum gas.  Science  20 Dec 2019:

Vol. 366, Issue 6472, pp. 1496-1499

DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw4465

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6472/1496   

# astro: you might find erratic massive black holes in dwarf galaxies ...

<< The new VLA (Very Large Array) observations revealed that 13 of these galaxies have strong evidence for a massive black hole that is actively consuming surrounding material. (AA) were very surprised to find that, in roughly half of those 13 galaxies, the black hole is not at the center of the galaxy, unlike the case in larger galaxies, >>  Amy Reines.

<< The scientists said this indicates that the galaxies likely have merged with others earlier in their history. This is consistent with computer simulations predicting that roughly half of the massive black holes in dwarf galaxies will be found wandering in the outskirts of their galaxies. >>

<< This work has taught us that we must broaden our searches for massive black holes in dwarf galaxies beyond their centers to get a more complete understanding of the population and learn what mechanisms helped form the first massive black holes in the early Universe, >> Amy Reines.

Astronomers find wandering massive black holes in dwarf galaxies. National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Jan 6, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-01-astronomers-massive-black-holes-dwarf.html    

Amy Reines, James Condon, et al. A New Sample of (Wandering) Massive Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies from High Resolution Radio Observations. arXiv:1909.04670v1 [astro-ph.GA] Sep 10, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.04670

Also

keyword 'astro' in FonT

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

# gst: apropos of 'large deviations', the instanton, to trace rogue waves

<< Strong evidence is given that the rogue waves observed in the tank are hydrodynamic instantons, that is, saddle point configurations of the action associated with the stochastic model of the wave system. (..) these hydrodynamic instantons are complex spatiotemporal wave field configurations which can be defined using the mathematical framework of large deviation theory and calculated via tailored numerical methods. These results indicate that the instantons describe equally well rogue waves created by simple linear superposition (in weakly nonlinear conditions) or by nonlinear focusing (in strongly nonlinear conditions), paving the way for the development of a unified explanation to rogue wave formation. >>

Giovanni Dematteis, Tobias Grafke, et al. Experimental Evidence of Hydrodynamic Instantons: The Universal Route to Rogue Waves. Phys. Rev. X 9, 041057. Dec 18, 2019.

https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.041057

Stefano Trillo, Amin Chabchoub. Viewpoint: A Unifying Framework for Describing Rogue Waves. Physics 12, 146. Dec18, 2019.

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v12/146

# life: apropos of fake news, creation of misinformation, and how misinformation can spread via person-to-person communication.

<< Numerical facts play a prominent role in public discourse, but individuals often provide incorrect estimates of policy-relevant numerical quantities >>

Jason C Coronel, Shannon Poulsen, Matthew D Sweitzer.  Investigating the generation and spread of numerical misinformation: A combined eye movement monitoring and social transmission approach. Human Communication Research, hqz012, doi: 10.1093/hcr/hqz012. Dec 5, 2019

https://academic.oup.com/hcr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/hcr/hqz012/5652186

<< If you're looking for who's responsible for all the misinformation out there, you might want to take a peek in the mirror. >>

Jennifer Smola. Facts are misremembered to fit personal biases, study finds.  The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio). Dec 26, 2019.

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-facts-misremembered-personal-biases.html

Also

fake news, by slow or/and fast catalysis, everyday, everywhere, in all ages. Feb 20, 2017.  

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2017/02/n-soc-fake-news-by-slow-orand-fast.html

<< qui non e' impossibile immaginare una entita' di intelligenza artificiale (AI) che, in modalita' autonoma, intenda utilizzare "le immagini" di uno scenario in transizione di questo tipo come modello base di prima approx per l'analisi del comportamento e le previsioni all'interno di un sistema costituito da entita' altre ... ad es. all'interno di un  contesto culturale umano; >>

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

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

<< Il ruolo sociale del pettegolezzo e' immenso. [..] Il pettegolezzo e' una inquisizione continua e reciproca, uno spionaggio e una sorveglianza di tutti da parte di tutti, a tutte le ore del giorno e della notte. >>

Tarde, Gabriel. Ecrits de psychologie sociale. Cit. Prigogine, Ilya. La Nuova Alleanza. Milano: Longanesi & C., 1979,  pp.147-149. Trad. Morchio, Renzo.

keyword "fake" in FonT

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

# life: apropos of transient dynamics, a predator–prey system seems to long-term survive without self-destruction

<< Predator-prey cycles rank among the most fundamental concepts in ecology, are predicted by the simplest ecological models and enable, theoretically, the indefinite persistence of predator and prey. However, it remains an open question for how long cyclic dynamics can be self-sustained in real communities.  >>

Bernd Blasius, Lars Rudolf, et al. Long-term cyclic persistence in an experimental predator–prey system. Nature doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1857-0. Dec 18, 2019.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1857-0

<<  It will be important to bring together this work (..) with theoretical models that are currently being developed. Doing so should provide more insights into the role of transient dynamics in natural systems. >>

Long-term predator–prey cycles finally achieved in the lab. Nature. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-03603-3. Dec 18, 2019

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03603-3

# gst: the emergence of a phase transition during asynchronous neural activities

<< The activity of a sparse network of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons is carefully revisited with reference to a regime of a bona-fide asynchronous dynamics. (..) The comparison between quenched and annealed (i.e. in setups where the synaptic connections are continuously randomly reshuffled) networks reveals the emergence of substantial differences when the coupling strength is increased, via a scenario somehow reminiscent of a phase transition. >>

Ekkehard Ullner, Antonio Politi, Alessandro Torcini. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of asynchronous neural activity. arXiv:1912.09207v1 [q-bio.NC]. Dec 19, 2019. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.09207