# brain: mosaic evolution of a learning and memory circuit in Heliconiini butterflies.

<< A species of tropical butterfly with unusually expanded brain structures display a fascinating mosaic pattern of neural expansion linked to a cognitive innovation. >>

<< The study (..) investigates the neural foundations of behavioural innovation in Heliconius butterflies, the only genus known to feed on both nectar and pollen. As part of this behaviour, they demonstrate a remarkable ability to learn and remember spatial information about their food sources—skills previously connected to the expansion of a brain structure called the mushroom bodies, responsible for learning and memory. >>️

Butterfly brains reveal the tweaks required for cognitive innovation. University of Bristol. Oct 18, 2024. 

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2024/october/butterfly-brains.html

Max S. Farnworth, Theodora Loupasaki, et al. Mosaic evolution of a learning and memory circuit in Heliconiini butterflies. Curr. Biol. doi: 10.1016/ j.cub.2024.09.069. Oct 18, 2024. 

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01337-X

Also: brain, evolution, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, brain, evolution

# gst: taming uncertainty, a tutorial by NaN et Al.

<< All models are wrong, but some are useful. >>. George Box. ️

Nan Chen, Stephen Wiggins, Marios Andreou. Taming Uncertainty in a Complex World: The Rise of Uncertainty Quantification - A Tutorial for Beginners. arXiv: 2408.01823v1 [math.DS]. Aug 3, 2024. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.01823

Also: NaN 'Not a Number'. In: Onda pneica. Apr 10, 2005 (quasi-stochastic poetry) https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2005/04/1694b-onda-pneica.html ;  nan(). In: Linux manual. https://www.man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/nanf.3.html

Also: << Amico, qualunque  cosa suonerai . . . >>. Jelly Roll Morton. In: Soniche a ramulo. Jan 28, 2007 (quasi-stochastic poetry). https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2007/01/2113-soniche-ramulo.html  

Also: uncertainty, Mr. Jelly Roll Morton, jazz, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, uncertainty, Jelly Roll, jazz

# life: Potus race, Kamala knows her jazz

<< a video showing Harris emerging from a record store in Washington DC has recently gained massive traction on social media. The footage, taken in May 2023, shows her engaging with journalists while displaying and talking about the records she had purchased. This video clip was notably shared and reposted among the European jazz community – not people you’d necessarily think would be hugely interested in the musical tastes of US presidential candidates. >>

<< Harris’s purchases included three classic jazz albums by notable African American artists: Charles Mingus’s 1972 album Let My Children Hear Music, Roy Ayers’ 1976 Everybody Loves the Sunshine, and the 1959 collaboration of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong on Porgy and Bess. >>️

<< Liking and knowing jazz, in some circles at least, suggests sophistication, intellectualism, and a leaning towards advocacy for cultural unity through diversity. The improvisational and creative elements found in jazz might also translate to a degree of flexibility in her politics. >>

<< The love of music is not necessarily an electoral strategy. But it would be interesting to find out which approach resonates most with voters ahead of the coming US election: scattergun and with no particular demographic focus, or targeted and consistent. >>

Haftor Medbøe, Jose Dias. US election 2024: Kamala Harris knows her jazz – why this could count with voters. theconversation.com. Aug 9, 2024.

https://theconversation.com/us-election-2024-kamala-harris-knows-her-jazz-why-this-could-count-with-voters-236344

Also: jazz, RAG-time, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: life, potus, potus race, jazz, RAG-time

# gst: apropos of noise-assisted phenomena, self-organized transport in noisy dynamic networks.

AA << present a numerical study of multicommodity transport in a noisy, nonlinear network. The nonlinearity determines the dynamics of the edge capacities, which can be amplified or suppressed depending on the local current flowing across an edge. (AA) consider network self-organization for three different nonlinear functions: For all three (They) identify parameter regimes where noise leads to self-organization into more robust topologies, that are not found by the sole noiseless dynamics. Moreover, the interplay between noise and specific functional behavior of the nonlinearity gives rise to different features, such as (i) continuous or discontinuous responses to the demand strength and (ii) either single or multistable solutions. (AA) study shows the crucial role of the activation function on noise-assisted phenomena. >>️

Frederic Folz, Kurt Mehlhorn, Giovanna Morigi. Self-organized transport in noisy dynamic networks. Phys. Rev. E 110, 044310. Oct 21, 2024. 

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.110.044310

Also: network, noise, behavior, self-assembly, instability, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, network, noise, behavior, self-assembly, stability 

# gst: monitoring of stable crack growth; crack tip behavior at the nanoscale (during ceramic fracture).

<< To understand fracture and make brittle materials more ductile, (AA) rely on modeling what happens at a crack tip. However, observing a crack tip in a brittle material is challenging: cracks propagate fast, and the events that (AA) are interested in observing occur at the nanoscale or below. Up to now, (They) were not able to observe what happens ahead of a moving crack tip. >>

<< In this work, (AA) show how by carefully performing fracture experiments inside a transmission electron microscope (They) can grow stable cracks while observing the nanoscale events happening at the crack tip. >>️

Oriol Gavalda-Diaz, Max Emmanuel, et al. Observing the crack tip behavior at the nanoscale during fracture of ceramics. PNAS. 121 (43) e2408292121. Oct 17, 2024.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2408292121 

Also: fracture, crack, behav in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, fracture, crack, behavior

# life: ghostly psyche revisited; ghosts, zombies, gris-gris, and so on ...

<< Most people imagine philosophers as rational thinkers who spend their time developing abstract logical theories and strongly reject superstitious beliefs. But several 20th-century philosophers actively investigated spooky topics such as clairvoyance, telepathy – even ghosts.

Many of these philosophers, including Henri Bergson and William James, were interested in what was called “psychical research”. This was the academic study of paranormal phenomena including telepathy, telekinesis and other-worldly spirits. These thinkers attended seances and were attempting to develop theories about ghosts, life after death and the powers exhibited by mediums in trances. >>

AA << recent archival research has been looking at how these topics shaped 20th-century philosophy. >>️

Matyas Moravec. Many important 20th-century philosophers investigated ghosts – here’s how they explained them. Oct 24, 2024. 

https://theconversation.com/many-important-20th-century-philosophers-investigated-ghosts-heres-how-they-explained-them-241635

Also: ethno, gris-gris, neuro, zombie, perception, psychedelic, delirium, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, gris-gris, neuro, zombie, perception, psychedelic, delirium 

FonT: even G.A. Romero's zombie filmography - which, as with other "spooky" themes, I have always marginalized - still seems relevant.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_A._Romero

# game: Parrondo's paradox reveals counterintuitive wins in biology and decision making in society.

<< 

• Parrondo's paradox illustrates how combining two losing strategies can result in a winning outcome.

• Its applications extend across various disciplines, particularly in understanding ecosystems at different scales.

• The paradox is explored in multiple fields, highlighting adaptability as a key factor in evolutionary survival.

• Future directions are outlined, emphasizing the potential to enhance our understanding of the natural world and society.

 >>️

Tao Wen, Kang Hao Cheong. Parrondo's paradox reveals counterintuitive wins in biology and decision making in society. Physics of Life Reviews. 51, 33-59. Dec 19, 2024. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1571064524000940 

Also: Parrondo, game, tit-for-tat, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Also: 'Parrondo paradox', in Pubmed  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=parrondo+paradox&sort=date&size=50

Keywords: gst, Parrondo, game, tit-for-tat

FonT: as mentioned elsewhere in this blog, from my point of view, if well modulated, the two paired strategies "Stochastic Tit-For-Tat" and "Parrondo" are deadly, regardless of the aims of the objectives (cooperative purposes, parasitism, resurfacing of hypothetical clusters of failed entities, ... )