# brain: exploring a cold-blooded reptile using functional MRI: crocodiles listen to classical music

AA << exposed the animals to various visual and auditory stimuli, including classical music by Johann Sebastian Bach. At the same time, they measured the animals' brain activity. The results have shown that additional brain areas are activated during exposure to complex stimuli such as classical music - as opposed to exposure to simple sounds. The processing patterns strongly resemble the patterns identified in mammals and birds in similar studies >>

Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum. Crocodiles listen to classical music in MRI scanner. May 3, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-05-crocodiles-classical-music-mri-scanner.html

Mehdi Behroozi, Brendon K. Billings, et al. Functional MRI in the Nile crocodile: a new avenue for evolutionary neurobiology. Proc Royal Soc B Biol Sci. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0178. Apr 25, 2018.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1877/20180178.article-info

# gst: the dance of complex knots (in DNA), from mobile to jammed states

AA << show for the first time experimentally that knots can go from a mobile to a jammed state by varying an applied strain rate, and that this jamming is reversible >>

Alexander R. Klotz, Beatrice W. Soh, and Patrick S. Doyle. Motion of Knots in DNA Stretched by Elongational Fields.  Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 188003. May 3, 2018.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.188003

Anne Trafton. Chemical engineers discover how to control knots that form in DNA molecules. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. May 3, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-05-chemical-dna-molecules.html

# behav: group’s dominance hierarchy seems statistically non-linear (among chimps)

<< Through agonistic networks, [AA] found that group members reciprocally exhibited agonism, and the group’s dominance hierarchy was statistically non-linear. One chimpanzee emerged as the most dominant through agonism but was least connected to other group members across affiliative networks.  [AA] results indicate that the conventional methods used to calculate individuals' dominance rank may be inadequate to wholly depict a group's social relationships in captive sanctuary populations >>

Jake A. Funkhouser, Jessica A. Mayhew, John B. Mulcahy. Social network and dominance hierarchy analyses at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 14; 13(2):e0191898. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191898. eCollection 2018.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29444112 

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0191898

# brain: chaotic scanning and tiny wobbles during (ocular) vision

<< When we read, our eyes don’t scan a page smoothly but perform a series of jumps, darting from one section of text to another. After each jump, known as a saccade, the pupil typically wobbles for a moment. Now researchers have developed a model for this wobble that involves only physical characteristics of the eyeball >>

Why Your Pupils Wobble. Apr 27, 2018

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v11/41

Bouzat S, Freije ML, et al. Inertial Movements of the Iris as the Origin of Postsaccadic Oscillations. Phys Rev  Lett. 120, 178101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.178101 Apr 27, 2018.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.178101

Also

2146 - is not as simple as one might think (chaos in reading). Sep11, 2007.

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2007/09/2146-is-not-as-simple-as-one-might.html

# game: the ineffable creativity of the coin toss approach

<< A new proof by SFI Professor David  Wolpert sends a humbling message to  would-be super intelligences: you can't  know everything all the time >>

<< "What if Epimenides had said 'the probability that a Cretan is a liar is greater than x percent?'" Moving from impossibility to probability could tell us whether knowing one thing with greater  certainty inherently limits the ability to know another thing. According to  Wolpert, "we are getting some very intriguing results." >>

Jenna  Marshall. New proof reveals  fundamental limits of scientific knowledge. Santa Fe Institute. May 3,  2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-05-proof-reveals-fundamental-limits-scientific.html

FonT

"(...) the probability that a Cretan is a liar is greater than x percent?". In tal caso se, per approcciare il paradosso di Epimenide, ci si affida preliminarmente, in prima approx, all'esito di lancio di moneta, ci si predispone a una sorta di sperimentale, al buio, pulsatile "car spinning" all'interno di scenari caratterizzati da dinamiche (anche) bi- multiforcate. Un approccio funzionale al reale ignoto, per dire, liberati da iniziali disdicevoli pre- giudizi ...

Also

"soniche a ramulo"

https://inkpi.blogspot.it/search?q=jelly+roll&m=1

"ramificata tinnula"

https://inkpi.blogspot.it/2005/06/1668-ramificata-tinnula-di-carmina.html

"never boring with chaos and tit-for-tat theories"

https://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/06/s-gst-never-boring-with-chaos-and-tit.html

# brain: pulsatile curiosity

<< The most surprising association offered new insight: Children with lower socioeconomic status generally have lower achievement than peers, but those who were characterized as curious performed similarly on math and reading assessments as children from higher income families. Our results suggest that while higher curiosity is associated with higher academic achievement in all children, the association of curiosity with academic achievement is greater in children with low socioeconomic status >> Prachi Shah.

University of Michigan. Study explores link between curiosity and school achievement. Apr 30, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-explores-link-curiosity-school.html

Prachi E. Shah, Heidi M. Weeks, et al. Early childhood curiosity and kindergarten reading and math academic achievement. Pediatric Research. doi: 10.1038/s41390-018-0039-3. Apr 26, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-018-0039-3

# gst phys rmx : finding inspiration in atmospheric whistles (to stop particles to run away)

<< The challenge of fusion energy is often equated to capturing- and holding-lightning in a bottle. The analogy is apt. Lightning and a fusion energy plasma have a lot in common >> [1]

AA << found another characteristic shared between the two types of plasmas: an odd electromagnetic wave known as a whistler >> [1]

<< Intermittent bursts of activity indicate that whistlers are interacting with relativistic electrons in a cyclic manner >> [1]

<< The mode amplitudes show intermittent time variations correlated with changes in the electron cyclotron emission that follow predator-prey cycles >> [2]

<< the Team thinks there is a way to inject whistlers into a plasma to control runaway electrons. The whistlers would bleed energy from the particles, making them less likely to run away. The whistlers would bleed energy from the particles, making them less likely to run away.>> [1]

[1] - US Department of Energy. Fusion scientists find inspiration in atmospheric whistles. May 3, 2018.   https://m.phys.org/news/2018-05-fusion-scientists-atmospheric.html

[2] - Spong DA, Heidbrink WW, et al. First Direct Observation of Runaway-Electron-Driven Whistler Waves in Tokamaks. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 155002 - Publ. Apr 11, 2018.    https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.155002