# s-astro: a macro "switch-like" dynamics

AA << propose  that  a  “switch-like”  magnetosphere  exists  at Uranus  in  both  equinox  and  solstice  seasons,  where  the  planetary rotation  drives  the  interchange  between  an  open  magnetosphere  and  a closed  magnetosphere  each  Uranus  day >>

Xin Cao , Carol Paty. Diurnal  and  seasonal  variability  of  Uranus's magnetosphere. Journal  of  Geophysical  Research:  Space  Physics. Vol. 122,  Issue  6, June  2017 Pages  6318–6331 Publ. June 27, 2017 doi:  10.1002/2017JA024063

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017JA024063/full

<< Stay weird, Uranus. We wouldn’t have you any other way >>

Rae Paoletta. Uranus Is Even Freakier Than We Thought. June 23, 2017.

http://gizmodo.com/uranus-is-even-freakier-than-we-thought-1796378503

# s-chem: self-assembled also into cuboids

<< Phospholipid liposomes are archetypical self-assembled structures. To minimize the surface tension, the vesicles typically are spherical >>

<< A 1,2-diamidophospholipid is presented that self-assembles into a cuboid structure. Owing to intermolecular hydrogen bonding, the bilayer membranes form an exceptionally tight subgel packing, leading to a maximization of flat structural elements and a minimization of any edges. These conditions are optimized in the geometrical structure of a cube >>

Frederik  Neuhaus, Dennis  Mueller, et al. Vesicle  Origami:  Cuboid  Phospholipid  Vesicles  Formed  by Template-Free  Self-Assembly. Angewandte  Chemie  International  Edition.  Vol. 56,  Issue 23, June  1,  2017. Pages  6515–6518. doi: 10.1002/anie.201701634

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201701634/abstract

Phosphorus-containing lipid  molecule self-assembles into a cuboid structure. June  5,  2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-06-phosphorus-containing-lipid-molecule-self-assembles-cuboid.html

# s-astro: the “mudball” model; a terrestrial muddiness from carbonaceous asteroids

<< Scientists have long held the belief that planets – including Earth – were built from rocky asteroids, but new research challenges that view >>

Planets like earth may have had muddy origins. July 14, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-07-planets-earth-muddy.html

<< It would have been a mud, rather than a rock >>

Philip A. Bland, Bryan J. Travis. Giant convecting mud balls of the early solar system. Science  Advances 14 Jul 2017: Vol.  3,  no.  7,  e1602514 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1602514

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1602514

# s-lang: jazz session during a bird song

<< Music is thought to engage its listeners by driving feelings of surprise, tension, and relief through a dynamic mixture of predictable and unpredictable patterns, a property summarized (..) [by AA] as "expressiveness" >>

<< birds render their songs more expressive by subtly modifying note timing patterns, similar to musical operations like accelerando or ritardando >>

AA << findings bear consequences for neuronal models of vocal sequence generation in birds, as they require non-local rules to generate rhythm >>

Tina C Roeske, Damian Kelty-Stephen, Sebastian Wallot. Birds have swing: Multifractal analysis reveals expressive rhythm in birdsong. BioRxiv June 29, 2017 doi: 10.1101/157594

http://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/29/157594

<< A veery thrush, ready to join the band >>

Michael Le Page. Swinging birds play with rhythm like jazz musicians. July 14, 2017

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2140543-swinging-birds-play-with-rhythm-like-jazz-musicians/

Lang Elliott. Veery Thrush. June 1, 2010

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cK1gaTqBRRk

# s-chem: self-assembling 'origami' nanoscale architectures by DNA staple strands

<< DNA origami is a technique that uses hundreds of short DNA oligonucleotides, called staple strands, to fold a long single-stranded DNA, which is called a scaffold strand, into various designer nanoscale architectures >>

Hong F, Zhang F, et al. DNA Origami: Scaffolds for Creating Higher Order Structures. Chem Rev. 2017 Jun 12. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00825.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28605177

# s-behav: disruptive colouration to gain cryptic benefits (among the reef fish Dascyllus aruanus)

<< Animals use disruptive colouration to prevent detection or recognition by potential predators or prey. Highly contrasting elements within colour patterns, including vertical or horizontal bars, are thought to be effective at distracting attention away from body form and reducing detection likelihood. >>

AA << results provide evidence that fish camouflage is more complex than it initially appears, with likely many factors influencing the detection likelihood of prey by relevant predators >>

Phillips GAC, How MJ, et al. Disruptive colouration in reef fish: does matching the background reduce predation risk?  J Exp Biol. 2017 Jun 1;220 (Pt 11): 1962-1974 doi: 10.1242/jeb.151480

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28566354

# s-gene: epigenetics, more than just genes

<< We are more than the sum of our genes. Epigenetic mechanisms modulated by environmental cues such as diet, disease or lifestyle take a (..) role in regulating the DNA by switching genes on and off >>

AA << focused on a particular modification called H3K27me3 that can also be found in humans >>

Max Planck Society. Epigenetics between the generations: Researchers prove that we inherit more than just genes. July 14, 2017

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-07-epigenetics-inherit-genes.html

Fides Zenk, Eva Loeser, et al. Germ line–inherited H3K27me3 restricts enhancer function during maternal-to-zygotic transition. Science  14 Jul 2017: Vol. 357, Issue 6347, pp. 212-216 doi: 10.1126/science.aam5339

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6347/212