# s-ecol: even if they aren't part of the diet ...

AA << report snake species throughout the globe possess a mutation that protects them from a class of cardiotonic steroids known as bufadienolides, contained in the skin of some toads, even if the toads aren't part of the snakes' diet. >>

Feast without fear: Scientist says more snake species resist toxin. Nov. 22, 2016

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-11-feast-scientist-snake-species-resist.html

Shabnam Mohammadi, Zachariah Gompert, et al. Toxin-resistant isoforms of Na+/K+ -ATPase in snakes do not closely track dietary specialization on toads. Proc. of the Royal Soc. B: Biol. Sci. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2111. Publ. 16 Nov. 2016.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1842/20162111

# n-lang: masters of breath to play 'click' in Taa sound system

<< With five distinct kinds of clicks, multiple tones and strident vowels — vocalized with a quick choking sound — the Taa language, spoken by a few thousand people in Botswana and Namibia , is believed by most linguists to have the largest sound inventory of any tongue in the world >>

Bryant Rousseau. Which Language Uses the Most Sounds? Click 5 Times for the Answer. Nov. 25, 2016.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/what-in-the-world/click-languages-taa-xoon-xoo-botswana.html

https://youtu.be/xIPrQYtUNaI

# 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