# s-evol: a radical reassessment of feeding behavior

<< In  2014,  scientists  discovered  a  bizarre  fossil—a  crocodile-sized  sea-dwelling  reptile [Atopodenatus  unicus] that  lived 242  million  years  ago  in  what  today  is  southern  China.>>

<< "It's  a  very  strange  animal,"  says  Olivier  Rieppel,  Rowe  Family  Curator  of  Evolutionary  Biology at  The  Field  Museum  in  Chicago.  "It's  got  a  hammerhead,  which  is  unique,  it's  the  first  time we've  seen  a  reptile  like  this."  >>

'Hammerhead'  creature  was  world's  first  planteating  marine  reptile. May  6,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-05-hammerhead-creature-world-plant-eating-marine.html

<< The evidence  indicates  a  novel  feeding  mechanism  wherein  the  chisel-shaped  teeth were  used  to  scrape  algae  off  the  substrate,  and  the  plant  matter  that  was  loosened  was filtered  from  the  water  column  through  the  more  posteriorly  positioned  tooth  mesh.  This  is the  oldest  record  of  herbivory  within  marine  reptiles.>>

Li  Chun ,  Olivier  Rieppel , et al.  The  earliest  herbivorous  marine  reptile  and  its  remarkable  jaw apparatus. Science  Advances    06 May 2016: Vol.  2,  no.  5,  e1501659 DOI:  10.1126/sciadv.1501659

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/5/e1501659

# s-acad: a Chaos Fest, in a new light, by FLCC

<< Called  an  "intellectual  Woodstock"  by  FLCC  physics  professor,  Sam  Samanta,  the  event  will  help  attendees  to experience  art,  music,  science,  disasters,  math,  politics,  technology,  economics,  finance  and  organizations  in  a new  light. >>

Melody  Burri. FLCC  hosts  Chaos  Fest,  an 'intellectual  Woodstock'. May.  2,  2016  at  4:49  PM

http://m.mpnnow.com/article/20160502/NEWS/160509925

# s-acad: apropos of zombie literature ...

<< Are  these  “zombie  papers”  (to  repurpose  a  term  coined  by  academic  publishing  watchdog  Leonid Schneider) ...  >>

<< In  this  way,  zombie  papers  can  spawn  more zombie  publications,  and  the  damage  can  be  amplified  and  spread  in  an  infectious  pattern. >>

Bob  Grant. The  Zombie  Literature.  May  1,  2016

http://mobile.the-scientist.com/article/45868/the-zombie-literature

# n-socsci: the decline of professions, a hypothetical scenery

<< "The  Future  of  the  Professions:  How  Technology  Will  Transform  the Work  of  Human  Experts"  (..) predicts  the  decline  of  today’s  professions  and  describes  the  people  and  systems  that will  replace  them >>

<< [ Richard  and Daniel Susskind]  argue  that  our  current  professions  are  antiquated,  opaque  and  no longer  affordable,  and  that  the  expertise  of  their  best  is  enjoyed  only  by  a  few.  In  their  place, they  propose  six  new  models  for  producing  and  distributing  expertise  in  society. >>

April  25,  2016

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-future-of-the-professions-how-technology-will-transform-the-work-of-human-experts

Richard  Susskind, Daniel  Susskind. The  Future  of  the  Professions:  How  Technology  Will  Transform  the Work  of  Human  Experts. Oxford University Press, 2016.

http://www.susskind.com/

# s-gst: measuring energy levels inside transitional dis-order(s)

<< Vortex  filaments  in  classical  and  quantum  fluids and  DNA  macromolecules,   magnetic  flux  tubes,  phase  defects,  polymers may interact  and  recombine  through reconnection of  neighboring strands.  Details  of  the  process  depend  on specific  local  mechanisms  that  may differ  from  case  to case,  but  certain  qualitative  features  —  such  as  the  preservation  of  the  original  strand  orientation after recombination — are generic and common to all systems. >>

<< The  study of  these  processes  is  clearly of  great  importance,  because  the  change  of  topology is often  accompanied  by a  change  in energy,  entropy and  function. >>

<< (..) HOMFLYPT  polynomial recently  introduced  for  fluid  knots (..) provides a  powerful  tool to  measure  topological  complexity of  various  physical  systems. >>

Liu,  X.,  Ricca,  R.  L.  Knots  cascade  detected  by  a  monotonically decreasing  sequence  of  values.  Sci.  Rep.6,  24118;  doi:  10.1038/srep24118  (2016).

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep24118

Quanta  energia è  nascosta  nel  caos? Bicocca, Milano,  2  maggio  2016

http://www.unimib.it/open/news/Quanta-energia-e-nascosta-nel-caos-Ce-lo-dice-il-polinomio-targato-Bicocca-Beijing-UTech/4936093294137195314

# s-brain-evol: lizard, an ancient dreamer

<< Lizards  might  snooze  like  humans  do. Sleeping  lizards  appear  to share  distinctive  brain  activity  patterns  with  sleeping  birds  and mammals (..)  If  true,  the  results  suggest  that  human  sleep patterns  evolved  by  around  300  million  years  ago  in  a  common  ancestor  of  birds,  mammals  and reptiles. >>

Sarah  Schwartz. Dragons  sleep  like  mammals  and  birds. Proof  of  reptiles’  slow-wave  and  REM  cycle  could  alter  understanding  of  slumber’s evolution. 2:19pm,  April  28, 2016

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dragons-sleep-mammals-and-birds

<< Sleep  has  been  described  in  animals  ranging  from  worms  to  humans.  Yet  the electrophysiological  characteristics  of  brain  sleep,  such  as  slow-wave  (SW)  and  rapid  eye movement  (REM)  activities,  are  thought  to  be  restricted  to  mammals  and  birds.  Recording from  the  brain  of  a  lizard,  the  Australian  dragon  Pogona  vitticeps,  we  identified  SW  and REM sleep  patterns,  thus  pushing  back  the  probable  evolution  of  these  dynamics  at  least  to the  emergence  of  amniotes.  The  SW  and  REM  sleep  patterns  that  we  observed  in  lizards oscillated  continuously  for  6  to  10  hours  with  a  period  of  ~80  seconds.  >>

Mark  Shein-Idelson ,  Janie  M.  Ondracek, et al. Slow  waves,  sharp  waves,  ripples,  and  REM  in  sleeping dragons. Science 29  Apr  2016: Vol.  352,  Issue  6285,  pp.  590-595 DOI:  10.1126/science.aaf3621

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/590

# s-brain-behav-n-socsci: abc, self awareness, creativity and civil rights

<< Is  creativity  a  uniquely  human trait? >>

<< Defining  the line  between human and machine is becoming blurrier by the day as startups, big companies, and research institutions  all  compete to build the next generation of advanced AI. >>

Alison E. Berman. The Last Frontiers of AI: Can Scientists Design Creativity  and Self-Awareness? Apr 20, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/04/20/the-last-frontiers-of-ai-can-scientists-design-creativity-and-self-awareness/

<< Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression. >>

Civil and political rights. utd 22/4/2016.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_and_political_rights

FonT: la foresta di Masuda (quasistocastica)

N. nell' ipotesi di futuro d' astrale dadaismo //
ch' anticipo' nella scenica d' e-capitalismo //
dell' onnisciente CPU l' autocatalito emulato //
Nel tempo ch' appariva ancora inverosimile //
che tra l'umani diradasse sino all' inverosimile //
la globale entita' dell' allocabile famulato.

Notes. 1726 - la foresta di Masuda. Sunday, February 06, 2005

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2005/02/1726-la-foresta-di-masuda.html