# astro: so strong concentration of 'dust pebbles' ultimately leads to a collapse

<<  'dust pebbles' are concentrated so strongly by an instability in the solar nebula that their joint gravitational force ultimately leads to a collapse >>

Comet mission reveals 'missing link' in our understanding of planet formation. Oct 25, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-comet-mission-reveals-link-planet.html

Jurgen Blum, Bastian Gundlach, et al. Evidence for the formation of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko through gravitational collapse of a bound clump of pebbles. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, stx2741 doi: 10.1093/mnras/stx2741 Oct 25, 2017

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/mnras/stx2741/4564447

# game: Kel'Thuzad e' il Lich responsabile

<< Kel'Thuzad e' il Lich responsabile di aver diffuso la piaga dei non-morti nel regno di Lordaeron ma e' probabilmente piu' conosciuto dai fan per essere il signore della necropoli di Naxxramas e dunque il boss finale dell'omonimo dungeon. Apparsa inizialmente in World of Warcraft, Naxxramas fu poi riutilizzata nella seconda espansione, Wrath of the Lich King, poiche' quasi nessuno era riuscito a raggiungere il livello necessario per provare il raid la prima volta >>

I FAN DI Blizzard DI IGN! I migliori 25 personaggi creati da Blizzard. Nel bel mezzo della BlizzCon 2017, una classifica per appassionati e curiosi. 04 Nov 2017

http://it.ign.com/m/overwatch-pc/132966/feature/i-migliori-25-personaggi-creati-da-blizzard

# brain: actually they have heads that shrink ...

AA << followed the intra-individual change in skull size and body mass throughout the full cycle in wild recaptured shrews (Sorex araneus) >>

Using X-ray images [AA] << showed that individuals decreased the size of their braincases in anticipation of winter by an average of 15.3%. Braincases then partially regrew in spring by 9.3%. Body mass decreased by 17.6% and then dramatically increased by 83.4% in spring >>

Javier Lazaro, Dina K.N. Dechmann, et al. Profound reversible seasonal changes of individual skull size in a mammal. Current Biology 27 (20): R1106 - 7 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.08.055

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31093-X

These shrews have heads that shrink with the season. Oct 23, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-shrews-season.html

# gst: origami, strange behaviors hiding in simple structures

<< The Miura-ori is also unique in having what’s called a negative Poisson’s ratio. When you push on its sides, the top and bottom will contract >>

Marcus Woo. The Atomic Theory of Origami. Oct 31, 2017

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-atomic-theory-of-origami-20171031/

# brain: they may not exist, but they tell us a lot, by Kathryn

<< Consider the yeti ... >>

Kathryn Schulz. Fantastic Beasts and How to Rank Them. The relative plausibility of impossible beings tells you a lot about how the mind works. Oct 30, 2017.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/is-bigfoot-likelier-than-the-loch-ness-monster/

# img: friends (quasi), by Kee Ee Lim

<< A Hug Before The Battle! These 2 large Malayan Water Monitor Lizards (Varanus Salvator) sizes each other up before the epic struggle for territory began. These lizards can grow up to 3m long >>

2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

http://m.yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/11161631/

https://twitter.com/NatGeo/status/924897427722817536

# age: senolytics, to stay young kill zombie cells

<< Killing off cells that refuse to die on their own has proved a powerful anti-ageing strategy in mice. Now it's about to be tested in humans >>

<< Surprisingly, senescent cells turn out to be slightly different in each tissue. They secrete different cytokines, express different extracellular proteins and use different tactics to avoid death. That incredible variety has made it a challenge for labs to detect and visualize senescent cells >> Judith Campisi.

<<  In young mice, no more than 1% of cells in any given organ were senescent. In two-year-old mice, however, up to 20% of cells were senescent in some organs.  But there's a silver lining to these elusive twilight cells: they might be hard to find, but they're easy to kill >> Valery Krizhanovsky.

<< I think senolytics are drugs that could come soon and be effective in the elderly now, even in the next few years >> Nir Barzilai.

To stay young, kill zombie cells. Nature 2017; 550: 448 – 50. doi:10.1038/550448a Oct 26, 2017

https://www.nature.com/news/to-stay-young-kill-zombie-cells-1.22872