# s-gst-chem: weak long-range van der Waals interactions in self-assembly

<< The researchers found that weak long-range van der Waals (attractive or repulsive forces between molecules or atomic groups that do not arise from interactions due to a covalent bond or electrostatic force) yielded the largest contribution to the molecule-surface interaction >>

A self-assembling molecular nanoswitch
A possible future molecular memory device. January 18, 2016

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-self-assembling-molecular-nanoswitch

<< We find that on both substrates, the adsorbate-substrate interaction is dominated by attractive van der Waals forces >>

Moritz Müller, Katharina Diller, et al. Interfacial charge rearrangement and intermolecular interactions: Density-functional theory study of free-base porphine adsorbed on Ag(111) and Cu(111). The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2016; 144 (2): 024701 DOI: 10.1063/1.4938259 (open access)

http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/144/2/10.1063/1.4938259

# s-brain-behav: audiovisual cues vs increased risky choice in rats during gambling

<<  We used a rodent analog of the Iowa Gambling Task to determine whether the addition of audiovisual cues would affect choice preferences. Adding reward-concurrent cues significantly increased risky choice. This is the first clear demonstration that reward-paired cues can bias cost/ benefit decision making against a subject's best interests in a manner concordant with elevated addiction susceptibility >>

Barrus MM, Winstanley CA. Dopamine D3 Receptors Modulate the Ability of Win-Paired Cues to Increase Risky Choice in a Rat Gambling Task. J Neurosci. 2016 Jan 20;36(3):785-94. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2225-15.2016.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26791209

# s-acad: The One Repo: suppose you’re a dinosaur lover & researcher ...

<< There are many, many repositories out there for scientists to store their research, and although this is great, searching for one thing across them all is not possible. Mike Taylor introduces a new project aiming to overcome this issue, The One Repo >>

http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2016/01/22/world-needs-one-repo/

https://twitter.com/BioMedCentral/status/690959710535716864

# e-app: the begin: wake up, stay up

<< Mimicker Alarm. A Microsoft Garage Project. Wake up, Stay up. Set your alarm.Act when you hear it.Play a game to dismiss >>

<< Mimicker Alarm is a morning alarm clock app that helps you get up and stay up by playing a simple game, called a "Mimic". To dismiss your alarm, we might ask you to snap a selfie, speak a phrase, or even get out of bed! The Mimics require you to be alert, smart, and use yourself and your surroundings. Watch out - if you don't finish the game in time, we'll assume you've fallen back asleep and your alarm will start ringing again >>

Microsoft, Jan 25, 2016 09:23:51 UTC

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/garage/workbench-apps-details/Mimicker-Alarm/MimickerAlarm.aspx

<<  I tre giochi compresi nella sveglia sono Express Yourself, Color Capture e Tongue Twister >>

<< Un’idea all’apparenza divertente (..) >>

http://businessandtech.com/2016/01/25/microsoft-un-rompicapo-per-spegnere-la-sveglia/

# s-acad: more 'soft' sci res, more stat positive (true H1 alternative hypothesis) results

<< This study analysed 2434 papers published in all disciplines and that declared to have tested a hypothesis. It was determined how many papers reported a “positive” (full or partial) or “negative” support for the tested hypothesis. If the hierarchy hypothesis is correct, then researchers in “softer” sciences should have fewer constraints to their conscious and unconscious biases, and therefore report more positive outcomes. Results confirmed the predictions at all levels considered: discipline, domain and methodology broadly defined >>

Daniele Fanelli. “Positive” Results Increase Down the Hierarchy of the Sciences.  PLoS ONE 2016; 5(4): e10068. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010068

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010068

# rmx-s-chem-tech: If you've ever blown up a balloon or pulled at a pair of pantyhose ...

<< If you've ever blown up a balloon or pulled at a pair of pantyhose, you may have noticed that the more the material stretches, the more transparent it becomes. It's a simple enough observation: the thinner a material, the more light shines through >>

<< For buildings and windows that automatically react to light, you don't have to spend as much on heating and air conditioning (..) The problem is, these materials are too expensive to produce for every window in a building. Our idea was to look for a simpler and cheaper way to let through more or less light, by stretching a very simple material: a transparent polymer that is readily available >>

http://news.mit.edu/2016/tune-polymer-material-transparency-smart-windows-0122

Francisco López Jiménez, Shanmugam Kumar and Pedro Miguel Reis. Soft Color Composites with Tunable Optical Transmittance. 21 Jan 2016. DOI: 10.1002/adom.201500617

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adom.201500617/abstract

# s-astro: a giant new planet, probably but not necessarily discovered

<< Scientists Have Probably But Not Necessarily Discovered a New Planet the Size of Neptune >>

https://twitter.com/singularityhub/status/690718595358330880

<< Planet Nine, if it exists, is likely in the hardest place to find >>

Tanya Hill and Jonti Horneron. Somewhere Out There Could Be a Giant New Planet in Our Solar System: So Where Is It? Jan 22, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/01/22/somewhere-out-there-could-be-a-giant-new-planet-in-our-solar-system-so-where-is-it/