# acad: ig-nobel 2017; not so evanescent but intriguing: contact with a live crocodile actually could affects a person's willingness to gamble

<< ECONOMICS PRIZE [AUSTRALIA, USA] — Matthew Rockloff and Nancy Greer, for their experiments to see how contact with a live crocodile affects a person's willingness to gamble.
REFERENCE: "Never Smile at a Crocodile: Betting on Electronic Gaming Machines is Intensified by Reptile-Induced Arousal," Matthew J. Rockloff and Nancy Greer, Journal of Gambling Studies, vol. 26, no. 4, December 2010, pp. 571-81. WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Matthew Rockloff and Nancy Greer >>

http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/

Mark Pratt. Research on big ears, crocodile gambling wins Ig Nobels. Sep 14, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-09-big-ears-crocodile-gambling-ig.html

<< Tourists at the Koorana Saltwater Crocodile Farm in Coowonga, Queensland, Australia (..) were randomly assigned to play a laptop-simulated Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) either: (1) prior to entry, or (2) after having held a 1-m saltwater-crocodile >>

<< At-risk gamblers with few self-reported negative emotions placed higher average bets at the EGM after having held the crocodile when compared to the control >>

<< high arousal can intensify gambling in at-risk players, but only if this feeling state is not perceived as a negative emotion >>

Matthew J. Rockloff, Nancy Greer. Never Smile at a Crocodile: Betting on Electronic Gaming Machines is Intensified by Reptile-Induced Arousal. Journal of Gambling Studies.  2010;  Vol 26, Issue 4, pp 571–581. Jan 6, 2010.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-009-9174-4

# age: autophagy inactivation (e.g. in neurons) to reverse the effects of age (50% extension of life) in the whole old body (post-reproductive C. elegans)

AA << identified that the inactivation of genes governing the early stages of autophagy up until the stage of vesicle nucleation, such as bec-1, strongly extend both life span and health span >>

AA << demonstrate that the improvements in health and longevity are mediated through the neurons, resulting in reduced neurodegeneration and sarcopenia >>

AA << propose that autophagy switches from advantageous to harmful in the context of an age-associated dysfunction >>

Thomas Wilhelm, Jonathan Byrne, et al.  Neuronal inhibition of the autophagy nucleation complex extends life span in post-reproductive C. elegans. Genes & Dev. Sep 7, 2017 doi: 10.1101/gad.301648

http://m.genesdev.cshlp.org/content/31/15/1561

<< By inactivating autophagy in the neurons of old worms they were not only able to prolong the worms life but they increased the total health of the worms dramatically >>

Why we did not evolve to live forever: Unveiling the mystery of  why we age.  Breakthrough in  understanding the origin of the  ageing process. Sep 07,  2017

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/2595_ENG_HTML.php

Why we did not evolve to live forever: Unveiling the mystery of why we age. Sep 15, 2017.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170915144151.htm

# websec: post-quantum cryptography, all of today's secrets will be lost (!)

AA << analyze the options available for a post-quantum cryptography future >>

<< The expectation is that quantum computers will be built some time after 2025 >>

<< An attacker can record our secure communications today, and break it with a quantum computer years later. All of today's secrets will be lost >> Tanja Lange

How future quantum computers will threaten today's encrypted data. Sep 14, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-09-future-quantum-threaten-today-encrypted.html

Daniel J. Bernstein, Tanja Lange. Post-quantum cryptography.     Nature 2017; 549: 188–194 Sep 14, 2017 doi: 10.1038/nature23461

https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v549/n7671/full/nature23461.html

# behav: scratch, also to socialize

<< Primates (including humans) scratch when stressed >>

<< scratching could potentially have social function >>

Jamie Whitehouse, Jerome Micheletta, Bridget M. Waller. Stress behaviours buffer macaques from aggression. SciRep  2017; 7(11083) doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-10754-8 Sept 11, 2017

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10754-8

# gene-evol: behind interactions among organisms: causality more than just correlation

<< Organisms engage in extensive cross-species molecular dialog, yet the underlying molecular actors are known for only a few interactions >>

AA << developed an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping-based approach to identify cause-and-effect relationships between genes from two partners engaged in an interspecific interaction >>

Yuelong Guo, Sylwia Fudali, et al. Networks Underpinning Symbiosis Revealed Through Cross-Species eQTL Mapping. Genetics August 1, 2017 vol. 206 no. 4 2175-2184; https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.117.202531

http://www.genetics.org/content/206/4/2175

<< In a first-of-its-kind study, NC State researchers applied a new approach to examine how members of two different species – a plant and a pathogen, for example, or a bacterium and a human – interact at the molecular level, and whether slight genetic changes in one species could affect gene expression in the other >>

<< "We're really trying to get to the genetics behind the interactions between two different organisms," said David McK. Bird [..] "Genetics gives us causality more than just correlation." >>

Mick Kulikowski. Study examines cross-species interactions. Sept  12, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-09-cross-species-interactions.html

# qubit: the flip-flop quantum processor, the begin

AA << introduce the flip-flop qubit, a combination of the electron-nuclear spin states of a phosphorus donor that can be controlled by microwave electric fields >>

<< to encode quantum information in the electron-nuclear spin states of 31P [phosphorus] donors in silicon, and to realize fast, high-fidelity, electrically driven universal quantum gates >>

<< a credible pathway to the construction of a large-scale quantum processor, where atomic-size spin qubits are integrated with silicon nanoelectronic devices, in a platform that does not require atomic-scale precision in the qubit placement [..] and, with realistic assumptions on noise and imperfections, are predicted to achieve error rates compatible with fault-tolerant quantum error correction >>

Guilherme Tosi, Fahd A. Mohiyaddin, et al. Silicon quantum processor with robust long-distance qubit couplings. Nature Comm 8, 2017; 450 Sept 06, 2017 doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00378-x

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00378-x

<< a new way to define a 'spin qubit' that uses both the electron and the nucleus of the atom. Crucially, this new qubit can be controlled using electric signals, instead of magnetic ones. Electric signals are significantly easier to distribute and localise within an electronic chip >>

Flip-flop qubits: Radical new quantum computing design invented. Sept 6, 2017

https://scienmag.com/flip-flop-qubits-radical-new-quantum-computing-design-invented/

Fiona MacDonald,  Mike McRae. Breaking: An Entirely New Type of Quantum Computing Has Been Invented. "It's amazing no one had thought of it before."  Sep 6, 2017

http://www.sciencealert.com/breaking-a-brand-new-type-of-qubit-has-been-unveiled-and-it-finally-makes-quantum-computers-scalable

also

# ai-bot: 352 predictions of when machines will make humans obsolete. Sep 2, 2017

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2017/09/ai-bot-352-predictions-of-when-machines.html

Bill Berry, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Michael Mills (R.E.M.).  "Begin The Begin". In: "Lifes Rich Pageant" (1986)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begin_the_Begin

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7XaoF8bDMcM

# behav: even more devious than previously thought

<< The common cuckoo, notorious for evading parental duty by hiding her eggs in the nests of other brooding birds, is even more devious than previously thought >>

Scientists expose true extent of cuckoo's cunning. Sept 4, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-09-scientists-expose-true-extent-cuckoo.html

<< Parasites evolve not only to evade host defences but also to manipulate host behaviour >>

AA << test whether a brood parasitic cuckoo manipulates host perception of predation risk using an acoustic signal—a hawk-like call—that might misdirect host defences and thereby reduce the chance that hosts detect parasitism >>

AA << propose that the female cuckoo chuckle call tricks the hosts into responding vigilantly as if they were exposed to danger from a hawk, instead of from a cuckoo. This would divert host attention from clutch protection to self-protection, and so reduce the chance of the hosts detecting that they have been parasitized >>

Jenny E. York, Nicholas B. Davies. Female cuckoo calls misdirect host defences towards the wrong enemy. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Sept 4, 2017 doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0279-3

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0279-3