# gst: high entropy can alloy immiscible nanoparticles

<< Making a giant leap in the 'tiny' field of nanoscience, a multi-institutional team of researchers is the first to create nanoscale particles composed of up to eight distinct elements generally known to be  immiscible, or incapable of being mixed or blended together >>

<< To create the high entropy alloy nanoparticles, the researchers employed a two-step method of flash heating followed by flash cooling >>

<< With cross-discipline curiosity, the demonstrated applications of these particles will become even more widespread >> Steven D. Lacey.

University of Maryland. Scientists mix the unmixable to create 'shocking' nanoparticles. Mar 29, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-03-scientists-unmixable-nanoparticles.html

Yonggang Yao, Zhennan Huang, et al.
Carbothermal shock synthesis of high-entropy-alloy nanoparticles. Science. 2018; 359 (6383): 1489 - 94. doi: 10.1126/science.aan5412

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6383/1489

# gst: like grains of sand in a sandcastle

<< Cells comprising a tissue can pack into disorderly geometries much as do grains of sand in a sandcastle. In doing so they can freeze into a fixed shape—as in a sandcastle—or flow like sand poured from a beach bucket >>

<< This finding makes a deep connection between the physics of inert granular matter such as sand and the geometry of multicellular living systems >> Lior Atia.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Sandcastles and surprising origins of basic cellular functions. Apr 2, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-sandcastles-basic-cellular-functions.html

Lior Atia, Dapeng Bi, et al. Geometric constraints during epithelial jamming. Nature Physics. doi: 10.1038/s41567-018-0089-9. Apr 2, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-018-0089-9

# astro: Tabby' Star, not Aliens there, but (probably) dust

AA << advanced many theories, such as aliens building a Dyson sphere, but most were shot down. The most likely explanation, Boyajian has suggested, is dust >>

Bob Yirka. Tabby's star dims again.
Mar 28, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-03-tabby-star-dims.html

http://www.wherestheflux.com/single-post/2018/03/19/tldr-DIPPING

# gst: quantum chaos to approach the evolution of a dynamic system

<< A study on the evolution of dynamic systems [..] has unexpectedly led to a better understanding of the chaos in the quantum world >>

<< The tools needed to explore the rigidity of dynamic systems [..] far exceeded those currently available, forcing the team to learn from neighboring disciplines >>

<< As a by-product of this process, researchers have identified the applicability of this project to quantum mechanics, which has led them to formulate a new theorem of thermodynamic quantum chaos combining ideas from large networks. Large networks — such as Big Data, social networks, convolutional neural networks of Artificial Intelligence models — which, although commonly used today, do not yet have adequate theories to explain their operation >>

Shakes Gilles. Study of dynamical systems leads to better understanding of quantum chaos. March 27, 2018.

https://www.thetalkingdemocrat.com/2018/03/study-of-dynamical-systems-leads-to-better-understanding-of-quantum-chaos/

# lang: surface tension dynamics at boundaries to understand dialect spread and extinction

<< It has recently been proposed that the spatial evolution of dialects can be understood using surface tension at linguistic boundaries >>

J.B. << shows that the inclusion of long-range interactions in the surface tension model generates both wave-like spread, and hierarchical diffusion, and that it is surface tension that is the dominant effect in deciding the stable distribution of dialect patterns >>

J.B. << generalizes the model to allow population mixing which can induce shrinkage of linguistic domains, or destroy dialect regions from within >>

James Burridge. Unifying models of dialect spread and extinction using surface tension dynamics. R Soc Open Sci. 2018 Jan; 5(1): 171446.
doi:  10.1098/rsos.171446. Jan 3, 2018.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5792924/

# brain: strong signals to connect to consciousness

<< Unexpectedly, our model reveals that only when the signal is strong enough, above a threshold level, the signal reaches a large set of areas of the brain region called the prefrontal cortex, which plays a critical role in high-level cognition >> Madhura Joglekar.

James Devitt. From Signal Propagation to Consciousness: A Potential Connection Discovered. Neuroscience News. Mar 22, 2018.

http://neurosciencenews.com/consciousness-signal-propagation-8674/amp/  

Madhura R. Joglekar, Jorge F. Mejias, et al. Inter-areal Balanced Amplification Enhances Signal Propagation in a Large-Scale Circuit Model of the Primate Cortex. Neuron.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.02.031.
Mar 22, 2018.

http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(18)30152-1

# zen: compassionate neanderthal

AA << review evidence for Neanderthal healthcare, drawing on a bioarchaeology of care approach and relating healthcare to other realms of Neanderthal social life. The authors argue that Neanderthal medical treatment and healthcare was widespread and part of a social context of strong pro-social bonds which was not distinctively different from healthcare seen in later contexts >>

AA << suggest that the time has come to accept Neanderthal healthcare as a compassionate and knowledgeable response to injury and illness, and to turn to other questions, such as cultural variation or the wider significance of healthcare in an evolutionary context >>

Penny Spikins, Andy Needham, et al.
Calculated or caring? Neanderthal healthcare in social context.  World Archaeology. doi: 10.1080/ 00438243.2018.1433060. Feb 22, 2018.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00438243.2018.1433060

University of York. Compassion helped Neanderthals to survive, new study reveals. Mar 13, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-03-compassion-neanderthals-survive-reveals.html

Also

# s-ethnomed: ancient flexible eat; self-medication among Neanderthals with aspirin and penicillin like.  Mar 18, 2017.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2017/03/s-ethnomed-ancient-flexible-eat-self.html