# s-brain: growing mini human brains (3D midbrain-like organoids) ...

AA << developed a method to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into a large multicellular organoid-like structure that contains distinct layers of neuronal cells expressing characteristic markers of human midbrain. >>

AA << detected electrically active and functionally mature mDA (midbrain dopaminergic) neurons and dopamine production in 3D midbrain-like organoids (MLOs). In contrast to human mDA neurons generated using 2D methods or MLOs generated from mouse embryonic stem cells, (AA) human MLOs produced neuromelanin-like granules that were structurally similar to those isolated from human substantia nigra tissues. >>

AA <<  MLOs bearing features of the human midbrain may provide a tractable in vitro system to study the human midbrain and its related diseases. >>

Junghyun Jo, Yixin Xiao, et al. Midbrain-like Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Contain Functional Dopaminergic and Neuromelanin-Producing Neurons. Cell Stem Cell. Volume 19, Issue 2, p248–257, 4 August 2016. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2016.07.005

http://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/abstract/S1934-5909(16)30200-4

also:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160730154504.htm

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-scientists-grow-mini-brains

# s-behav: bringing chocolate (among Pisaura mirabilis) ...

AA << reinvestigated whether nuptial gifts may function as a shield against female attacks during mating encounters in the spider Pisaura mirabilis and whether female hunger influences the likelihood of cannibalistic attacks. The results showed that pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism was enhanced when males courted without a gift and this was independent of female hunger. >>

Soren Toft, Maria J. Albo. The shield effect: nuptial gifts protect males against pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism. The Royal Society. Biology Letters. Published 18 May 2016.DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.1082

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/5/20151082

Susan Milius.To prevent cannibalism, bring chocolate. The romantic gifts of nursery web spiders will work as self-defense.   July 26, 2016 9:00AM

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/prevent-cannibalism-bring-chocolate

FonT: in teoria di sistemi si potrebbe, dopo appropriata analisi delle dinamiche  "sottotraccia",  esportare questo complesso  comportamentale allo scopo di   "modellizzare altrove", vale a dire all'interno di contesti altri ...; in tali casi sarebbe opportuno estendere, dilatare oppure  sostituire il termine  "cannibalism" in funzione delle differenti situazioni testate ...;

more:

about safety waves ... http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/01/rmx-s-behav-bizzarre-paddle-game-about.html

# s-astro: and come out the other side

<< One  of  the  biggest  problems  when  studying  black  holes  is  that  the  laws  of  physics  as  we  know them  cease  to  apply  in  their  deepest  regions.  Large  quantities  of  matter  and  energy  concentrate in  an  infinitely  small  space,  the  gravitational  singularity,  where  space-time  curves  towards  infinity and  all  matter  is  destroyed.  Or  is  it?  A  recent  study  (..)  suggests  that  matter  might  in  fact  survive  its  foray  into these  space  objects  and  come  out  the  other  side. >>

Do  black  holes  have  a  back  door?  R&I World. 9 Aug 2016.

http://ruvid.org/ri-world/black-holes-might-have-a-back-door/

Gonzalo  J  Olmo ,  D  Rubiera-Garcia   and  A  Sanchez-Puente. Impact  of  curvature  divergences  on  physical observers  in  a  wormhole  space–time  with  horizons.  Classical  and  Quantum  Gravity,  Volume  33,  Number  11. Published  28  April  2016.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381/33/11/115007

# s-evol: smoking, mutation and evolution

<< A genetic mutation may have helped modern humans adapt to smoke exposure from fires and perhaps sparked an evolutionary advantage over their archaic competitors >>

Matt Swayne. Where there's smoke and a mutation there may be an evolutionary edge for humans. August 2, 2016

http://news.psu.edu/story/419626/2016/08/02/research/where-theres-smoke-and-mutation-there-may-be-evolutionary-edge

<< (..) a functionally significant change in the AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) occurred uniquely in humans, relative to other primates, that would attenuate the response to many environmental pollutants, including chemicals present in smoke from fire use during cooking. >>

Troy D. Hubbard, Iain A. Murray, et al. Divergent Ah receptor ligand selectivity during hominin evolution. Mol Biol Evol (2016) doi: 10.1093/molbev/msw143 First published online: August 2, 2016

http://m.mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/07/17/molbev.msw143

# s-bot: automatically cracked ... the first "Cyber Grand Challenge"

<<  Last night, at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, seven autonomous bots proved that hacking isn't just for humans. >>

Nathaniel  Wood. Hackers  Don’t  Have  to  Be  Human  Anymore. This  Bot  Battle  Proves  It .  WIRED. 05 Aug 2016  8:57  am

http://www.wired.com/2016/08/security-bots-show-hacking-isnt-just-humans/

<< Starting  with  over  100  teams  consisting  of  some  of  the  top security  researchers  and  hackers  in  the  world,  the Defense  Advanced  Research  Projects  Agency  (DARPA)  pit seven  teams  against  each  other  in  the  Cyber  Grand Challenge  final  event,  held  August  4  in  Las  Vegas.  During the  competition,  each  team’s  Cyber  Reasoning  System (CRS)  automatically  identified  software  flaws,  and  scanned a  purpose-built,  air-gapped  network  to  identify  affected hosts.  For  nearly  twelve  hours  teams  were  scored  based on  how capably  their  systems  protected  hosts,  scanned  the network  for  vulnerabilities  and  maintained  the  correct function  of  software. >> 06  Aug  2016

THE WORLD'S FIRST ALL-MACHINE HACKING TOURNAMENT  PARIS  HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV, AUGUST 4, 2016

https://www.cybergrandchallenge.com/

# s-astro: lack of Cepheids in the inner Galaxy

<<  C’è un “buco” nela  Via  Lattea: una  enorme regione priva di stelle  giovani proprio  nel cuore della  Galassia.  Un  fatto  inatteso,  che  richiederà  un profondo ripensamento sull'idea  che  abbiamo  del modo con il quale la nostra isola di stelle  si è evoluta nel tempo. >>

Luigi Bignami. Via  Lattea:  non  ci sono  stelle  giovani  al centro  della  Galassia. 02  Agosto  2016.

http://www.focus.it/scienza/spazio/il-grande-buco-della-via-lattea

AA << (..) suggests a lack of Cepheids in the inner 2.5 kpc (kiloparsec) region of the Galactic disc >>

Noriyuki Matsunaga, Michael W. Feast, et al. A lack of classical Cepheids in the inner part of the Galactic disc. MNRAS (October 11, 2016) 462 (1): 414-420. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stw1548 First published online June 27, 2016

http://m.mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/462/1/414

# n-socsci: a mix and match model at dawn of agriculture

<< Genetic analyses reveal a collection of highly distinct groups in the Near East and Europe at the dawn of agriculture. These groups mixed and migrated to form the relatively homogeneous populations seen in the region today. >>

<< They now appear to have descended from four major groups: hunter-gatherers in what is now western Europe, hunter-gatherers in eastern Europe and the Russian steppe, the Iran farming group and the Levant farming group. >>

<< The findings (..) also suggest that agriculture spread in the Near East at least in part because existing groups invented or adopted farming technologies, rather than because one population replaced another. >>

Stephanie Dutchen. Meet  the  First  Farmers. Ancient  DNA reveals  complex genetic history  of  Near  East  at  dawn of  agriculture. July  25, 2016.

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/meet-first-farmers

Iosif Lazaridis, Dani Nadel, et al. Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East. Nature (2016). doi:10.1038/nature19310. Published online 25 July 2016

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaap/ncurrent/full/nature19310.html