# s-behav: the intricate performance (dancing and singing) of a jumping spider

AA << present behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that [Jumping spiders (Salticidae)]  perceive and respond to airborne acoustic stimuli, even when the distance between the animal and the sound source is relatively large (∼3 m) and with stimulus amplitudes at the position of the spider of ∼65 dB sound pressure level (SPL) >>

<< Behavioral experiments with the jumping spider Phidippus audax reveal that these animals respond to low-frequency sounds (80 Hz; 65 dB SPL) by freezing—a common anti-predatory behavior characteristic of an acoustic startle response >>

<< Neurophysiological recordings from auditory-sensitive neural units in the brains of these jumping spiders showed responses to low-frequency tones (80 Hz at ∼65 dB SPL)—recordings that also represent the first record of acoustically responsive neural units in the jumping spider brain.  Responses persisted even when the distances between spider and stimulus source exceeded 3 m and under anechoic conditions. >>

Paul S. Shamble, Gil Menda, et al.
Airborne Acoustic Perception by a Jumping Spider. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.041 Publ. Oct. 13, 2016

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30985-X

Jaymi Heimbuch. Jumping spider males dance and sing ... Oct. 4, 2016.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/jumping-spider-males-dance-and-sing-yes-sing-woo-their-mates

FonT: sarebbe interessante valutare se e quanto tempo prima la struttura neuroacustica del Phidippus audax sia in grado di percepire e discriminare le basse freq dei movimenti  tellurici profondi che successivamente manifesteranno  macro episodi di superficie (earthquake).

also:

Richard A. Lovett. Scientists Seek Foolproof Signal to Predict Earthquakes. National Geographic News. Jan. 5, 2013

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/01/04-earthquakees-defy-prediction-efforts/

Vanessa Bates Ramirez. Earthquakes Will Be as Predictable as Hurricanes Thanks to AI. Sep 27, 2016

http://singularityhub.com/2016/09/27/earthquakes-will-be-as-predictable-as-hurricanes-thanks-to-ai

# s-food: concerning edible bugs ...

AA << analyzed grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms and buffalo worms for their mineral contents and estimated how much of each nutrient would likely get absorbed if eaten, using a lab model of human digestion >>

AmChemSoc. The buzz about edible bugs: Can they replace beef? Oct. 26, 2016

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161026104806.htm
   
Gladys O. Latunde-Dada, Wenge Yang, Mayra Vera Aviles. In Vitro Iron Availability from Insects and Sirloin Beef. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03286

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03286

# s-ai: POTUS races: the MogIA's granular prophecies, by Sanjiv Rai

<< An artificial intelligence system that correctly predicted the last three U.S. presidential elections puts Republican nominee Donald Trump ahead of Democrat rival Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House >>

<< MogIA is based on Mowgli, the child from Rudyard Kipling's novel "The Jungle Book." Rai [Sanjiv Rai] said this is because his AI model learns from the environment >>

<< "If you look at the primaries, in the primaries, there were immense amounts of negative conversations that happen with regards to Trump. However, when these conversations started picking up pace, in the final days, it meant a huge game opening for Trump and he won the primaries with a good margin," Rai told CNBC in a phone interview >>

<< Using social media to predict outcomes of elections has become increasingly popular because of the amount of data available publicly. In September, Nick Beauchamp [..] published a paper about his experiment applying AI to more than 100 million tweets in the 2012 election. He found that this closely mirrored the results seen in state-level polling >>

<< Rai said his system would be improved by more granular data  [from] each digital device [..] he could then collect data on exactly what people were thinking >>

Arjun Kharpal. Trump will win the election and is more popular than Obama in 2008, AI system finds. Oct. 27, 2016.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/28/donald-trump-will-win-the-election-and-is-more-popular-than-obama-in-2008-ai-system-finds.html

Daniele Chicca. Elezioni Usa, per i social media e l’intelligenza artificiale vincerà Trump. 28 ott 2016

http://www.wallstreetitalia.com/news/elezioni-usa-per-i-social-media-e-lintelligenza-artificiale-vincera-trump/

# s-gst-music: Hexacorda mollia inside acyclical order and disorder

<< A new composition for string quartet takes listeners on a journey into the weird world of soft matter >>

<< Hexacorda mollia revolves around the theme of order and disorder in soft matter—materials like liquid crystals and biological organisms that can be easily deformed by thermal fluctuations or an external stress, such as an electric or magnetic field. For many of these systems, this form of disorder is required to create ordered structures that can perform some function >>

<< Music is always going through various states of order to disorder and back again, in ways that [scientists] might recognize as phase transitions >>

Katherine Wright. Arts & Culture: A Quartet for Soft Matter. Physics 9, 92. Aug 5, 2016.

http://physics.aps.org/articles/v9/92

# s-chem-ethno: nanotech acupuncture needles

<< this experiment [..] combined nanotechnology with acupuncture needles >>

AA << developed porous acupuncture needles (PANs) with fine pores ranging in sizes from nanometers (one billionth of a meter) to micrometers (one millionth of a meter) on the surface of the needles using a nano-electrochemical method >>

<< PANs are expected to be as effective as conventional large and long needles by minimizing the sense of pain during acupuncture treatment while expanding the surface area of the needle 20 times greater than conventional acupuncture ones >>

<< Through electrophysiological experiments with rats [AA] proved that PANs excel in transferring signals from a spinal dorsal horn by the in vivo stimulation of Shenmen (HT7) points, and in particular, demonstrated that the efficacy of PANs is superior to conventional acupuncture needles in treating alcohol and cocaine addiction in animal experiments >>

Applying nanotechnology to make porous acupuncture needles. Oct 17, 2016.

http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=44827.php

Su-ll In, Young S. Gwak, et al. Hierarchical Micro/Nano-Porous Acupuncture Needles Offering Enhanced Therapeutic Properties. Nature. Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 34061 (2016)
doi:10.1038/srep34061

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep34061

# s-gst: multiple cracks, simultaneously ...

<< While  the  initiation  of  fracture  in  brittle  solids  is  generally associated  with  the  preexistence  of  material  imperfections,  the mechanism  for  initiation  of  fracture  in  viscoelastic  fluids,  e.g.,  polymer melts  and  solutions,  remains  an  open  question. >>

<< The  images  reveal  the  simultaneous propagation  of  multiple  cracks >>

<< The  critical  stress  and  strain  for  the onset  of  crack  propagation  are  found  to  be  highly  reproducible  functions of  the  stretch  rate,  while  the  position  of  initiation  is  completely  random >>

Qian Huang, Nicolas J. Alvarez, et al. Multiple Cracks Propagate Simultaneously in Polymer Liquids in Tension. Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 087801. Publ 15 Aug. 2016

http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.087801

Jay Fineberg. How to Fracture a Fluid. Aug.15, 2016

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v9/95

# s-gene: started on Halloween 2015 ...

<< A “top secret" meeting of scientists was held at the Langone Medical Center on Halloween 2015. Their aim? To kickstart a new Human Genome Project and build a functional human genome from the base pairs up by 2026 >>

<< "There's only one grand challenge in synthetic biology. Only one. And it's to write a human genome. And we have to do that" >> Andrew Hessel

Jason Dorrier. Writing the First Human Genome by 2026 Is Synthetic Biology's Grand Challenge. Oct 10, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/10/10/writing-the-first-human-genome-by-2026-is-synthetic-biologys-grand-challenge/

Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine 2016 Conference. San Diego, Oct 8-11, 2016.

https://exponential.singularityu.org/medicine/