# ai: artificial intelligence AlphaGo becomes its own teacher

AA << introduce an algorithm based solely on reinforcement learning, without human data, guidance or domain knowledge beyond game rules. AlphaGo becomes its own teacher >>

David Silver, Julian Schrittwieser et al. Mastering the game of Go without human knowledge. Nature. 2017; 550: 354–9 doi: 10.1038/nature24270 Oct 18, 2017

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v550/n7676/full/nature24270.html

also

# s-ai: handling imperfect information (from scratch), by Libratus. Feb 4, 2017.

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2017/02/s-ai-handling-imperfect-information.html

# gst: adhesive performances (sticky approaches): a single type of toe pad (with lots of friction) vs multi functional "drunken stumbles"

AA << shows how different groups of lizards – geckos and anoles – took two completely different evolutionary paths to developing the beneficial trait of sticky toe pads >>

<< anoles seemed to commit to a single type of toe pad, one that generates lots of friction. As a group, they were able to develop sticky toe pads early. Geckos, meanwhile, opted for an evolutionary “drunken stumble,” and seemingly didn’t commit to a single approach, instead evolving toe pads that generate plenty of friction in some species and others that excel at sticking directly to a surface >>

Layne Cameron, Travis Hagey. An evolving sticky situation. Oct 12, 2017

http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2017/an-evolving-sticky-situation/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012123031.htm

Travis J. Hagey, Josef C. Uyeda, et al. Tempo and mode of performance evolution across multiple independent origins of adhesive toe pads in lizards. Evolution.  2017; 71 (10): 2344–58 doi: 10.1111/evo.13318 Sep 13, 2017

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.13318/abstract

# gst: cooperating vs self-serving bacteria in transitional (noise) scenarios

AA << study a well-mixed, finite population consisting of two strains competing for the limited resources provided by an environment that randomly switches between states of abundance and scarcity >>

AA << consider two scenarios—one of pure resource competition, and one in which one strain provides a public good—and investigate how environmental randomness (external noise) coupled to demographic (internal) noise determines the population’s fixation properties and size distribution >>

Karl Wienand, Erwin Frey, Mauro Mobilia. Evolution of a Fluctuating Population in a Randomly Switching Environment. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 158301 Oct 11, 2017

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.158301

AA << showed that a randomly changing environment can create a level playing field between self-serving bacteria and bacteria that work together >>

<< Cooperating bacterial populations are more likely to survive in changing habitats >>

Fluctuating environments can help cooperating bacteria. Oct 12, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-fluctuating-environments-cooperating-bacteria.html

# pharma: waiting for new 'magic strings': psilocybin to treat depression

AA << data fill an important knowledge gap regarding the post-treatment brain effects of psilocybin, and are the first in depressed patients [..] A ‘reset’ therapeutic mechanism is proposed >>

Robin L Carhart-Harris, Leor Roseman, et al. Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Sci Rep  2017; 7 (13187) doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-13282-7

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-13282-7

<< Patients taking psilocybin to treat depression show reduced symptoms weeks after treatment following a 'reset' of their brain activity >>

Ryan O'Hare. Magic mushrooms may 'reset' the brains of depressed patients. Oct 13, 2017.

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_12-10-2017-16-22-36

'Magic mushrooms' may 'reset' the brains of depressed patients, study suggests. Oct 13, 2017

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171013091018.htm

to update:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=psilocybin

# gst: more on the three-body problem (695 families of collisionless orbits)

<< The famous three-body problem can be traced back to Isaac Newton in the 1680s >>

In a recent paper AA << numerically obtain 695 families of Newtonian periodic planar collisionless orbits of three-body system >>

Li, X. & Liao, S. More than six hundred new families of Newtonian periodic planar collisionless three-body orbits. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. (2017) 60: 129511. doi: 10.1007/s11433-017-9078-5

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11433-017-9078-5

the movies:

http://numericaltank.sjtu.edu.cn/three-body/three-body-unequal-mass-movies.htm

http://numericaltank.sjtu.edu.cn/three-body/three-body-unequal-mass.htm

http://numericaltank.sjtu.edu.cn/three-body/three-body.htm

Scientists discover more than 600 new periodic orbits of the famous three-body problem. Oct 12, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-scientists-periodic-orbits-famous-three-body.html

# soc-tech: unexpected obsolescence (from the user) for stochastic self-destruct

<< “There are products which we have our doubts about,” said Hiroya Kawasaki, chief executive of Kobe Steel >>

<< Making his first public appearance since the company admitted falsifying inspection data on aluminium and copper parts at the weekend, Mr Kawasaki acknowledged the reputational damage caused by the scandal >>

Emiko Terazono. Kobe Steel chief says trust in company has ‘fallen to zero’. ft.com Oct 12, 2017

https://www.ft.com/content/ac18403c-af08-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130

<< Kobe Steel President Hiroya Kawasaki said on Thursday there may be other cases in which data has been fabricated by Japan’s third-biggest steelmaker, which is reeling from a cheating scandal that has reverberated along global supply chains >>

Kobe Steel president says there may be other cases of data fabrication. reuters.com Oct 12, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/article/kobe-steel-scandal-kawasaki/kobe-steel-president-says-there-may-be-other-cases-of-data-fabrication-idUSL4N1MN1BB

# zen: short daily mental practices induce structural plasticity in socio-affective and socio-cognitive brain networks

AA << have recently discovered that different types of mental training positively affect either our attention abilities or our social competencies such as compassion and perspective-taking. These improvements in attentional-, socio-emotional or cognitive capacities are parallelled by structural changes in dissociable brain networks supporting these skills. In addition, the scientists were able to show that the release of the stress hormone cortisol after exposure to a psychosocial stressor was significantly reduced only after practising mental techniques aiming at improving social competencies but not by mindfulness-based attention-increasing techniques >>

Tania Singer,  Verena Muller. Improving social skills through mental training changes brain structure and reduces social stress. Max Planck Institute. Oct 4, 2017

http://www.cbs.mpg.de/press-release/improving-social-skills

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171004142653.htm

Sofie L. Valk, Boris C. Bernhardt, et al.  Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training. Sci Adv  2017; 3(10) e1700489    doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700489 Oct 4, 2017
   
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/10/e1700489