# s-behav: the regular chaotic of wild flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) dancers

<< Flamingos are very good dancers. They twist and preen, they scratch their heads, they march in unison. >>

Nicholas Bakalar. Flamingo Mating Rules:  1.  Learn  the  Funky Chicken. Nov. 28,  2016.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/science/flamingos-dancing-sexual-display.html

Charlotte  Perrot, Arnaud  Bechet, et al. Sexual display complexity  varies non-linearly with age and  predicts breeding  status  in  greater  flamingos.  Nature. Scientific Reports 6 (2016); Article  number:  36242. doi: 10.1038/srep36242

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep36242

# s-phys: how a plasmoid instability could behave

<< The paper describes how the plasmoid instability begins in a slow linear phase that goes through a period of quiescence before accelerating into an explosive phase that triggers a dramatic increase in the speed of magnetic reconnection. >>

<< Plasmoid instability, which breaks up plasma current sheets into small magnetic islands called plasmoids, has generated considerable interest in recent years as a possible mechanism for fast reconnection. >>

<<  At issue is how magnetic reconnection, a universal process that sets off solar flares, northern lights and cosmic gamma-ray bursts, occurs so much faster than theory says should be possible. >>

John Greenwald. Researchers propose an explanation for the mysterious onset of a universal process. Nov. 22, 2016

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-11-explanation-mysterious-onset-universal.html

Comisso L., Lingam M., et al. General theory of the plasmoid instability. Phys. Plasmas 23, 100702 (2016);

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4964481

# n-soc-law: performance epifanica di bozza di scheda elettorale Senato della Repubblica

riforma costituzionale; facsimile di bozza di scheda elettorale Senato della Repubblica:

http://videofq.meride.tv/fq2/video/folder1/renzi_scheda_senato_fq2.mp4

http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/11/30/riforme-renzi-mostra-la-scheda-elettorale-del-nuovo-senato-sara-elezione-diretta/3226835/

FonT: circa l'abilita' di far comparire / sparire Entita' di varia natura ... il Presid. del Consiglio Matteo Renzi potrebbe (qui si sottolinea "potrebbe") ricordare a qualcuno quell'accademici declinanti a giustificare marachelle (Entita' in apparizione, duplicazione, sparizione, sostituzione, ...): "l'ho fatto per il bene della disciplina ..."

Tuttavia altri potrebbero (qui si sottolinea "potrebbero")  associare  questa in-credibile pubblica  performance a contesti dove certi venditori usano il mezzo televisivo per proporre l'ennesima patacchina e/o pataccona ...

patacchina, pataccona cfr
http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/patacca/

more : le sostanziali ragioni per votare NO ("a prescindere", come diceva Toto' ... )

(1) non e' una riforma politicamente condivisa;

(2) il Presid. del Consiglio Matteo Renzi non e' stato eletto;

http://m.ilgiornale.it/news/2016/05/23/renzi-io-non-eletto-mi-ha-chiamato-napolitano-in-una-situazione-demerg/1262470/

(3) a seguito della sentenza Corte Costituzionale 1/2014, 4 dicembre 2013;

http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionSchedaPronuncia.do?anno=2014&numero=1

(4) a seguito della sentenza Cassazione 8878/2014, 4 aprile 2014;

http://www.giurcost.org/casi_scelti/Cassazione/Cass.sent.8878-2014.pdf

# s-pnei: how social status alters immune function in macaques

<< Americans differ in life expectancy by more than a decade. Glaring health inequalities across the socioeconomic spectrum are often attributed to access to medical care and differences in habits such as smoking, exercise and diet. But a new study in rhesus monkeys shows that the chronic stress of life at the bottom can alter the immune system even in the absence of other risk factors. The research confirms previous animal studies suggesting that social status affects the way genes turn on and off within immune cells >>

Upward mobility boosts immunity in monkeys. Nov. 24, 2016

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-11-upward-mobility-boosts-immunity-monkeys.html

AA << combined genomics with a social status manipulation in female rhesus macaques to investigate how status alters immune function >>

AA << identify specific transcription factor signaling pathways that explain these differences, including low-status–associated polarization of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway toward a proinflammatory response >>

Noah Snyder-Mackler, Joaquin Sanz et al. Social status alters immune regulation and response to infection in macaques. Science  25 Nov 2016: Vol. 354, Issue 6315, pp. 1041-1045 DOI: 10.1126/science.aah3580

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6315/1041

# s-ecol: largely irreversible changes in the Arctic: 19 regime shifts to complex (chaotic?) transitions

<< Chapter 3 of the report examines 19 documented or potential  regime  shifts  in  the  Arctic  –  from  a  shift  to  sea- ice- free summers, to collapse of different Arctic fisheries, to the transformation of landscapes: from bogs to peatlands, or from tundra to boreal forest or to steppe >>

Arctic Council (2016). Arctic Resilience Report. M. Carson and G. Peterson (eds). Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm.

https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/1838

https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/bitstream/handle/11374/1838/ARR_full_report_low-res_161114b.pdf

# s-evol: more grey on their backs to camouflage (Meliphagidae and Acanthizidae songbirds)

<< Tropical birds are well known for their colorful appearance: vibrantly colored macaws, parakeets and parrots are widely considered to be the quintessential birds of this region. >>

<< But do birds evolve to become more colorful when they move to the tropics? >>

<<  "The pattern is really clear" Friedman [Nicholas Friedman]  reports, "birds living in the desert tend to be more grey on their backs, while birds living in the forest have evolved to be more of a dark green - we think they are evolving these colors to match their background." >>

<< This would be an example of natural selection, in this case more camouflaged organisms can survive and pass on their genes.
"These results help to explain the origins of the diversity of life, how species end up evolving different characteristics over time" >>

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. New research provides insight into plumage evolution. Nov. 4, 2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-11-insight-plumage-evolution.html

Friedman NR, Remes V. Ecogeographical gradients in plumage coloration among Australasian songbird clades. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 2016  doi:10.1111/geb.12522 Publ.  Sept. 25, 2016.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.12522/abstract

# s-evol: smarter dinosaurs

<< Dinosaurs have a fearsome reputation for their hunting abilities but less so when it comes to their intelligence. >>

<< But the recent discovery of the first recorded fossilised brain tissue could help challenge that image >>

Alex Liu. First Dinosaur Brain Fossil Suggests They May Have Been Smarter Than We Thought. Oct 28, 2016.

http://singularityhub.com/2016/10/28/first-dinosaur-brain-fossil-suggests-they-may-have-been-smarter-than-we-thought/

https://theconversation.com/first-dinosaur-brain-fossil-suggests-they-may-have-been-smarter-than-we-thought-67715

Martin D. Brasier,  David B. Norman, et al. Remarkable preservation of brain tissues in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur. Geological Society, London, Special Publications(2016); SP448.3

http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP448.3

http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/early/2016/11/01/SP448.3