# behav: to avoid zombification (among humble cockroaches)

<< The emerald jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) is renowned for its ability to zombify the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) with a sting to the brain. >>

<< many cockroaches deter wasps with a vigorous defense. Successful cockroaches elevated their bodies, bringing their neck out of reach, and kicked at the wasp with their spiny hind legs, often striking the wasp's head multiple times (..) >>

<< Thus, for a cockroach not to become a zombie, the best strategy is: be vigilant, protect your throat, and strike repeatedly at the head of the attacker. >>

Catania K.C. How Not to Be Turned into a Zombie. Brain Behav Evol. 1-15 Oct 31, 2018.  doi: 10.1159/000490341

https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/490341

Karate kicks keep cockroaches from becoming zombies, wasp chow. Vanderbilt University. Oct 31, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-10-karate-cockroaches-zombies-wasp-chow.html

Also

<< cockroaches aren’t a nuisance. They’re "gregarious insects" that can teach us about how groups approach collective decision-making. >>

Erin Blakemore. Cockroaches Have Personalities, Too. Smithsonian.com Feb 4, 2015.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cockroaches-have-personalities-too-180954140

# qucpu: a quantum computer in a silicon chip seems closer to reality

AA << demonstrate an integrated device platform incorporating a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor double quantum dot that is capable of single-spin addressing and control via electron spin resonance, combined with high-fidelity spin readout in the singlet-triplet basis. >>

M. A. Fogarty, K. W. Chan, et al. Integrated silicon qubit platform with single-spin addressability, exchange control and single-shot singlet-triplet readout. Nature Comm. volume 9, Article number: 4370  Oct 30, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06039-x

Tests show integrated quantum chip operations possible. University of New South Wales. Oct 30, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-10-quantum-chip.html

# ai.bot: their names are Rosie and Norman; they could see you soon ...

about Rosie   https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/10/16/knightscope-robot-security-patrol/amp

about Norman   http://norman-ai.mit.edu/  

also

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=nfulaw

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=ai-bot

PS: non e' casuale se ho scelto la forma  "they could see you" anziche' "they could meet you"; "meet" significa "incontro", "to come into contact or conjunction with" percio' comporta anche "scambio"; invece "see" significa qui "osservare", "to perceive by the eye", "to come to know"; Lo "scambio" qui e' assente a priori. Vale a dire "apertura" di  una finestra di osservazione per la raccolta, l'analisi, la modellizzazione delle informazioni, e poi le previsioni, il controllo; e poi anche "blablabla",  anzicheforse. 2018-1030 15:45.

# acad: oops! No PhD will be necessary to build artificial intelligence algorithms

<< OVER THE past five years researchers in artificial intelligence have become the rock stars of the technology world (..) The top names can earn over $1m a year. (..) The standard route into these jobs has been a PhD in computer science from one of America’s elite universities. (..) That is changing. This month fast.ai, an education non-profit based in San Francisco, kicked off the third year of its course in deep learning. (..) The course and others like it come with a simple proposition: there is no need to spend years obtaining a PhD in order to practise deep learning. (..) Fast.ai’s course can be completed in just seven weeks. >>

No PhD, no problem. New schemes teach the masses to build AI. Oct 25,  2018.

https://www.economist.com/business/2018/10/27/new-schemes-teach-the-masses-to-build-ai

More

http://www.fast.ai/

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2018/06/ai-open-source-ai-projects.html

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=linux

# tech: it repels everything with some beneficial exceptions

<< Researchers at McMaster University have solved a vexing problem by engineering surface coatings that can repel everything, such as bacteria, viruses and living cells, but can be modified to permit beneficial exceptions. >>

Researchers design "smart" surfaces to repel everything but targeted beneficial exceptions. McMaster University. Oct 24, 2018

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-smart-surfaces-repel-beneficial-exceptions.html

Tohid Didar. Researchers design "smart" surfaces, creating promise for safer implants and more accurate diagnostic tests. Oct 24, 2018.

https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/news/researchers-design-smart-surfaces-creating-promise-safer-implants-and-more-accurate-diagnostic

# brain: sometimes to see it is necessary to rewire

<< Life-changing moments are also brain-changing moments: everything from a first kiss to a last goodbye modifies cells within the skull. The capacity to learn and remember, however, extends beyond the profound experiences that we lament or treasure. In fact, a new study (..)  suggests that even when we're not consciously forming new memories, our brains can change in important ways, altering how we interpret and interact with the world. >>

Charles D. Gilbert. To see what's right in front of you, your brain may need some rewiring. Rockefeller University. Oct 24, 2018.

https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-front-brain-rewiring.html

AA << found that during the course of perceptual learning axon collaterals in primary visual cortex (V1) undergo sprouting and pruning, suggesting how V1 is engaged in encoding learned information. >>

Timo van Kerkoerle, Sally A. Marik, et al. Axonal plasticity associated with perceptual learning in adult macaque primary visual cortex. PNAS Oct 9, 2018 115 (41) 10464-9 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1812932115

http://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10464

# brain: somatic stem cell proliferation could be modulated by autonomic nervous system

this << study (..) demonstrates, for the first time, that stem cell proliferation is directly controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). >>

<< To demonstrate that stem cell behavior was changing as a result of ANS stimulation, the researchers grew intestinal epithelial cells in the lab and exposed them to high levels of two neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and acetylcholine. Norepinephrine is a major neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, or "fight or flight" branch of the ANS, while acetylcholine is produced by the parasympathetic nervous system, or "rest and digest" branch. >>

Scientists find stem cell proliferation is controlled directly by nervous system. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Oct 17, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-10-scientists-stem-cell-proliferation-nervous.html

Elizabeth A. Davis, Megan J. Dailey. A direct effect of the autonomic nervous system on somatic stem cell proliferation?  Am J Physiol. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00266.2018. Oct 10, 2018.

https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajpregu.00266.2018