# behav: social isolation vs. evolutionary dynamics

<< For some animals—such as beetles, ants, toads, and primates—short-term social isolation can be just as vital as social interaction to development and long-term evolution. In a review published July 17 in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, two evolutionary biologists describe approaches for testing how an animal's isolation might impact natural selection and evolution. >>

Social isolation: Animals that break away from the pack can influence evolution. Cell Press. Jul 17, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-07-social-isolation-animals-evolution.html

AA << suggest that the 'index of social isolation', the mismatch between actual and optimal social interaction experienced by individuals within a population, may play a key role in releasing cryptic genetic variation, adaptation rates, diversification patterns, and ecosystem-level processes. Evolutionary dynamics arising from social isolation could have significant impacts in applied settings such as conservation, animal breeding, control of biological invasions, and evolutionary resilience to anthropogenic change. >>

Nathan W. Bailey, Allen J. Moore.  Evolutionary Consequences of Social Isolation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.008. Jul 17, 2018.

https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(18)30120-4

# acad: oops! when a big research (MACH15 clinical study, funded by several million dollars) can go wrong

<< The National Institutes of Health plans to end funding to the Moderate Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health (MACH) trial. The decision is based on concerns about the study design that cast doubt on its ultimate credibility.  >>

NIH to end funding for Moderate Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health trial. Jun 15, 2018.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-end-funding-moderate-alcohol-cardiovascular-health-trial   

<< last month, the National Institutes of Health took the unusual step of shutting down one of its own clinical trials - a $100 million dollar experiment gone wrong. The announcement followed an internal investigation, prompted by a dogged New York Times report, that uncovered inappropriate interactions between the alcohol industry (Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken, and others) and the NIAAA in the execution of MACH15. >>

Jeremy Samuel Faust. A Major Industry-Funded Alcohol Study Was Compromised. How Many Others Are Out There?  The most salient takeaway from the collapse of the MACH15 trial is that the conflicts of interest at its core are probably not as rare as we think. Jul 13, 2018

https://undark.org/article/mach15-alcohol-nih-industry-funding

# astro: after Florence, the binary nature of the near-Earth asteroid 2017 YE5, as dark as charcoal.

<< Near-Earth asteroid 2017 YE5 was discovered with observations provided by the Morocco Oukaimeden Sky Survey on Dec. 21, 2017. >>

<< On June 24 (..) they were able to confirm that 2017 YE5 consists of two separated objects. By June 26, both Goldstone and Arecibo had independently confirmed the asteroid's binary nature. >>

<< At its closest approach to Earth, the asteroid came to within 16 times the distance between Earth and the moon. >>

<< 2017 YE5 is likely as dark as charcoal. >>

Calla Cofield. Observatories team up to reveal rare double asteroid. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jul 13, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-07-observatories-team-reveal-rare-asteroid.html  

Also

<< Asteroid Florence, a large near-Earth asteroid, will pass safely by Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles, (7.0 million kilometers, or about 18 Earth-Moon distances). Florence is among the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles is size; measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE mission indicate it's about 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) in size. >>

Large asteroid to safely pass Earth on September 1. NASA. Aug 18, 2017.

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-08-large-asteroid-safely-earth-september.html

# gst: the 'memory' of a friction

<< Contrary to what you may have learned in high school, friction between two surfaces is not constant. For a wide range of materials and surface types, it increases with time, as microscopically uneven surfaces deform and come into closer contact. Experiments now find an additional wrinkle: friction can have a memory, meaning that it can depend not only on the current state of the interface but also on how it got there. The findings hint at connections between friction and the behavior of glasses and other disordered systems and, in the long run, may influence how scientists think about friction associated with earthquakes, industrial machinery, and micromachines. >>

David Lindley. Focus: Friction Remembers Its Origins. Physics 11, 55. Jun 1, 2018

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v11/55

# behav: compassionate ants

<< Open wounds are a major health risk in animals, with species prone to injuries likely developing means to reduce these risks. >>

AA << analysed the behavioural response towards open wounds on the social and individual level in the termite group-hunting ant Megaponera analis.  During termite raids, some ants get injured by termite soldiers (biting off extremities), after the fight injured ants get carried back to the nest by nest-mates. [AA] observed treatment of the injury by nest-mates inside the nest through intense allogrooming at the wound. Lack of treatment increased mortality from 10% to 80% within 24 h, most likely due to infections. >>

Erik T. Frank, Marten Wehrhahn, K. Eduard Linsenmair. Wound treatment and selective help in a termite- hunting ant. Proc Royal Soc B - Biol Sci. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2457. Feb 14,  2018.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1872/20172457

Mike Jeffries. These ants have evolved a complex system of battlefield triage and rescue. The Conversation. Apr 17, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-ants-evolved-complex-battlefield-triage.html

# ai-bot: actually, things could start to get out of control

<< It’s clear that companies have identified the value of bots and integrated them into their sales, customer service, and human resource processes. But now individuals are also starting to use them to navigate through the bot-heavy world of the internet, which leads to bot-bot interactions where humans are not involved anymore. >>

<<  If bots are now more efficient than people, they can get things done in a way humans can’t  - and we all know this. But when there’s also a bot on the other side, things start to get out of control. >>

Andreas Berger. Bot vs. Bot: Will the Internet Soon Be a Place Without Humans? Jul 07, 2018.

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/07/bot-vs-bot-will-the-internet-soon-be-a-place-without-humans/

# lang: talking drums (manguare' drums) among Amazonian Bora people to compress and trasmit messages around 20km

<< The Boras use manguare' drums in two ways. One is the "musical mode," which is used to perform memorised drum sequences with little or no variation as part of rituals and festivals. The other is the "talking mode," which is used to transmit relatively informal messages and public announcements >>

Amazonian Bora people mimic the rhythm of their language for communication over large distances using drums. Max Planck Society. Apr 24, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-amazonian-bora-people-mimic-rhythm.html

Frank Seifart, Julien Meyer, et al. Reducing language to rhythm: Amazonian Bora drummed language exploits speech rhythm for long-distance communication. Royal Soc Open Sci. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170354. Apr 25, 2018.

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/4/170354