# s-phys: nanoquakes: driving them by phononic crystals

<< the extreme frequency sound waves - also known as surface acoustic waves [SAW] or 'nanoquakes' , as they run across the surface of a solid material in a similar manner to earthquake tremors on land >>

<< Although surface acoustic waves form a key component of a host of technologies, they have proved extremely difficult to control with any degree of accuracy >>

[AA] << have developed a new type of structure, known as a ' phononic crystal,' which when patterned into a device, can be used to steer and guide the nanoquakes >>

Riding the wave: Pioneering research tames nanoquakes. Aug 2, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-08-nanoquakes.html

<< Phononic crystals can control the propagation of SAW, analogous to photonic crystals, enabling components such as waveguides and cavities >>

B. J. Ash, S. R. Worsfold, et al. A highly attenuating and frequency tailorable annular hole phononic crystal for surface acoustic waves.  Nature Communications 8, Article number: 174 (2017)  doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00278-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00278-0

# s-esobio: seeking a new "planetary protection officer"

<< Nasa is seeking a new "planetary protection officer" tasked with defending the earth from alien life >>

<< It is not a new idea - the original United Nations treaty on space exploration, signed in 1967, called for space-faring nations to take care about contaminants >>

Planetary protection officer wanted, generous salary. BBC. 02 Aug 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-40809566

<< The mission of the Office of Planetary Protection is to promote the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments, and Earth >>

About Planetary Protection. Aug 3, 2017

https://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/about

<< Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics >>

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/474414000#btn-add-info

FonT: nella lista dei requisiti desiderabili non sono contemplate le lauree in biologia, biochimica ...

"physical science"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/physical%20science

# s-gst: the importance of noise (transcriptional noise) in stem cell. dev., by Wolf et al.

<< Random differences between cells early in development could be the key to making different cells in the body, according to new research from a team co-led by Professor Wolf Reik >>

<< when cells start specialising into different cell types their gene activity becomes more 'noisy' - each cell starts to turn different groups of genes on or off >>

Noise helps cells make decisions: Team reveals the importance of genetic noise in development. Aug 1, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-08-noise-cells-decisions-team-reveals.html

AA << study systematically charts transcriptional noise and uncovers molecular processes associated with early lineage decisions >>

Hisham Mohammed, Irene Hernando-Herraez, et al. Single-Cell Landscape of Transcriptional Heterogeneity and Cell Fate Decisions during Mouse Early Gastrulation. Cell Reports , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , 1215 - 1228 doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.07.009 Publ. Aug 1, 2017

http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(17)30961-0

# s-astro: cosmic nomads, transfers, impacts

a) cosmic nomads

Lee Billings. Wandering in the Void, Billions of Rogue Planets without a Home. New results suggest free-floating giant planets are less common than previously believed, but hint at vast numbers of smaller castaway worlds. July 24, 2017

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wandering-in-the-void-billions-of-rogue-planets-without-a-home/

b) cosmic transfers

Ashley Yeager. Half of the Milky Way comes from other galaxies
Simulations suggest that galactic winds blew the material in from elsewhere. July 26, 2017

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/half-milky-way-comes-other-galaxies

Daniel Angles-Alcazar
Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere
et al. The cosmic baryon cycle and galaxy mass assembly in the FIRE simulations. Mon Not R Astron Soc (2017) 470 (4): 4698-4719. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stx1517
Publ. June 20, 2017

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/mnras/stx1517/3871367/The-Cosmic-Baryon-Cycle-and-Galaxy-Mass-Assembly

c) cosmic impacts

Jenny Wells. Evidence of impacts that structured the Milky Way galaxy. July 18, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-07-evidence-impacts-milky-galaxy.html

Deborah Ferguson, Susan Gardner, Brian Yanny. Milky Way Tomography with K and M Dwarf Stars: The Vertical Structure of the Galactic Disk. The American Astronomical Society. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 843, Number 2 . Publ. July 14, 2017.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aa77fd/meta

# s-ecol: asymmetric cooperation during symbiosis (among Polynucleobacteria)

<< Relationships where two organisms depend on each other, known as symbiosis, evoke images of partnership and cooperation. But a new study in Nature Ecology and Evolution shows that, when it comes to certain microorganisms, symbiotic partners are actually being held "hostage" >>

Hostage situation or harmony? Researchers rethink symbiosis. July 27, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-07-hostage-situation-harmony-rethink-symbiosis.html

Vittorio Boscaro, Martin Kolisko, et al.  Parallel genome reduction in symbionts descended from closely related free-living bacteria. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1, 1160–1167 (2017) doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0237-0 Publ. July 21,  2017

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0237-0

# s-game: equilibrium, a chimeric target

<< In 1950, John Nash — the mathematician later featured in the book and film “A Beautiful Mind” — wrote a two-page paper that transformed the theory of economics. His crucial, yet utterly simple, idea was that any competitive game has a notion of equilibrium: a collection of strategies, one for each player, such that no player can win more by unilaterally switching to a different strategy >>

<< Nash’s equilibrium concept, which earned him a Nobel Prize in economics in 1994, offers a unified framework for understanding strategic behavior not only in economics but also in psychology, evolutionary biology and a host of other fields. Its influence on economic theory “is comparable to that of the discovery of the DNA double helix in the biological sciences,” wrote Roger Myerson of the University of Chicago, another economics Nobelist >>

In a paper posted online last September AA << proved that no method of adapting strategies in response to previous games — no matter how commonsensical, creative or clever — will converge efficiently to even an approximate Nash equilibrium for every possible game. It’s “a very sweeping negative result,” Roughgarden (Tim Roughgarden) said >>

Erica Klarreich. In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium. July 18, 2017.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-game-theory-no-clear-path-to-equilibrium-20170718/

Yakov Babichenko, Aviad Rubinstein. Communication complexity of approximate Nash equilibria. arXiv:1608.06580 Sep. 13,  2016

https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.06580

# s-pnei: brain-like activities; syntesis and release of dopamine by T-cells

<< a proportion of human TFH  [follicular helper T] cells contain dense-core granules marked by chromogranin B, which are normally found in neuronal presynaptic terminals storing catecholamines such as dopamine.  TFH cells produce high amounts of dopamine and release it upon cognate interaction with B cells >>

<< faster dopamine-induced T–B-cell interactions increase total germinal centre output and accelerate it by days >>

Ilenia Papa, David Saliba, et al. TFH-derived dopamine accelerates productive synapses in germinal centres. Nature 547, 318–323 (July 20, 2017) doi: 10.1038/nature23013

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature23013.html

Kate Prestt. Discovery of brain-like activity in immune system promises better disease treatments. July 13, 2017

http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/discovery-of-brain-like-activity-in-immune-system-promises-better-disease-treatments