# chem: how to quickly wrap droplets with a splash to stabilize emulsions

<< Whether an object has a regular or irregular shape, wrapping it with a thin film can be challenging >>

Deepak Kumar, Joseph D. Paulsen, et al.  Wrapping with a splash: High-speed encapsulation with ultrathin sheets. Science. 2018; 359 (6377): 775 - 8. doi: 10.1126/science.aao1290. Feb 16, 2018.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6377/775

<< The quick and simple solution Kumar [Deepak Kumar] has found is a huge advance, and once he mastered it and identified the most important parameters, he found he could get adventurous and make different shapes. "We show that we have made cubes and a tetrahedron, for example" >>

<< If you want to add complexity, you could put a layer or a pattern on the inside of the wrapping, or you could add a window to make it slightly leaky. Once you know how to do the technique, it's not fussy. >>

University of Massachusetts Amherst. Physicists speed up droplet-wrapping process. Feb 15, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-02-physicists-droplet-wrapping.html

# soc: just only one #POTUS Donald's (chaotic) tweet to change the course of California's 2018 elections, by John

<< Well, there's a guy who was supported by 76% of the party's voters in the PPIC survey. That would be Trump. And he's got an effective way to ensure a chosen candidate gets a ton of free attention. Yes, a presidential tweet. >>

<< The flip side, of course, is that an embrace from Trump could turn off millions of otherwise persuadable California voters. But for a party with limited options, firing up the voters you already have may be better than doing nothing at all. >>

John Myers. How one Trump tweet could change the course of California's 2018 elections. Feb 18, 2018.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-road-map-trump-endorsement-republicans-governor-20180218-story.html

https://twitter.com/latimes/status/965137674112774145

<< His tweets have the power to shape international relations, send stock prices up — or down — and galvanize the American public. >>

Everything President Trump has tweeted (and what it was about)

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-updates-everything-president-trump-has-tweeted-and-what-it-was-about-2017-htmlstory.html

# chem: strange labyrinth structures when a crystal is split in two

<< what happens when the periodic pattern [of a ionic crystal] comes to an abrupt end? >>

<< If one splits a cubic crystal along a certain direction, one can end up with only positive or only negative charges at the surface. Such a situation would be highly unstable >>

<< Strangely though, by raising the temperature of the surface slightly, the islands break apart and the atoms form a labyrinth of jagged lines >>

<< The labyrinth structures are not only beautiful ... >>

Vienna University of Technology. Strange things happen when a crystal is split in two. Feb 2, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-02-strange-crystal.html 

Martin Setvin, Michele Reticcioli, et al. Polarity compensation mechanisms on the perovskite surface KTaO3(001). Science. 2018; 359 (6375): 572 - 5. doi: 10.1126/science.aar2287. Feb 2, 2018.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6375/572

# epidem: they fall from the sky

<< Aerosolization of soil-dust and organic aggregates in sea spray facilitates the long-range transport of bacteria, and likely viruses across the free atmosphere. >>

The << results provide an explanation for enigmatic observations that viruses with very high genetic identity can be found in very distant and different environments. >>

Isabel Reche, Gaetano D’Orta, et al. Deposition rates of viruses and bacteria above the atmospheric boundary layer. The ISME Journal.
doi: 10.1038/s41396-017-0042-4. Jan 29,  2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41396-017-0042-4

University of British Columbia.  Viruses - lots of them - are falling from the sky. Feb 6, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-02-viruseslots-themare-falling-sky.html

# astro: we have to escape with a speed of 550 km/s

<< When a rocket is launched into space, it is thrown out with a speed of 11 km/s to overcome the Earth's gravitational pull [..] Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is over a trillion times heavier than our tiny planet Earth so to escape its gravitational pull we have to launch with a speed of 550 km/s. >> Prajwal Kafle.

International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. Milky Way ties with neighbor in galactic arms race. Feb 14, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-02-milky-ties-neighbor-galactic-arms.html  

FonT

intrigante il video che simula la collisione- fusione

# lang: language is learned in brain circuits that preexist humans

AA << study provides strong evidence that language—indeed both first and second language—is learned, in specific ways, by general-purpose neurocognitive mechanisms that preexist Homo sapiens >>

<< our substantial knowledge of the general-purpose mechanisms, from both animal and human studies, may also apply to language >>

Phillip Hamrick, Jarrad A G Lum,  Michael T Ullman. Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1713975115. Jan 29, 2018.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/01/25/1713975115

Georgetown University Medical Center. Language is learned in brain circuits that predate humans. Jan 30, 2018.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180130094713.htm

# brain: controlling consciousness

<< There is current controversy regarding the role of prefrontal versus posterior cortices in consciousness. >>

AA << demonstrate that cholinergic stimulation of prefrontal cortex, but not parietal cortical areas, restored wakefulness in rats >>

AA << conclude that cholinergic mechanisms in prefrontal cortex can control the level of consciousness. >>

Dinesh Pal, Jon Dean, et al. Differential role of prefrontal and parietal cortices in controlling level of consciousness. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/262360. Feb 8, 2018.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/02/08/262360

https://twitter.com/biorxivpreprint/status/961721894352445440