# ai: DeepMind - AlphaStar wins almost every match against Pro StarCraft II players

<< Humans tend to think we’re adept at the games we create, but computers have proven time and time again that we’re just not fast enough to stay on top. >>

<<  AlphaStar is a convolutional neural network (..) Through intensive training with competing models, DeepMind was able to teach AlphaStar how to play the game as well as the best human players. (..)  AlphaStar has substantially lower APM (actions per minute) compared with the human players, but it’s making smarter choices. >>

Ryan Whitwam. DeepMind AI Challenges Pro StarCraft II Players, Wins Almost Every Match. Jan 24, 2019.

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/284441-deepmind-ai-challenges-pro-starcraft-ii-players-wins-almost-every-match

The AlphaStar team. AlphaStar: Mastering the Real-Time Strategy Game StarCraft II. Jan 24,  2019.

https://deepmind.com/blog/alphastar-mastering-real-time-strategy-game-starcraft-ii/

Also

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=%23+ai

# evol: a ghost archaic ancestor was identified with deep learning

<< All modern humans are genetically related to each other at a time depth of up to 300 thousand years ago and share a common African root. >>

<< Sequencing of ancient Neanderthal and Denisovan fossils supported introgression events into AMH (Anatomically Modern Humans) out of Africa; however, recent studies also support the presence of gene flow from AMH into Neanderthals, thus suggesting a complex hominin evolution. >>

AA << results support a third introgression in all Asian and Oceanian populations from an archaic population. This population is either related to the Neanderthal-Denisova clade or diverged early from the Denisova lineage. >>

Mayukh Mondal, Jaume Bertranpetit,  Oscar Lao. Approximate Bayesian computation with deep learning supports a third archaic introgression in Asia and Oceania.  Nature Comm. 10 (246) Jan 16, 2019 doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08089-7.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08089-7

# brain: a way to prevent over-firing NMDA receptors ... "it really comes down to chemistry"

<< The ideal drug is one that only affects the exact cells and neurons it is designed to treat, without unwanted side effects. This concept is especially important when treating the delicate and complex human brain. Now, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor  Laboratory have revealed a mechanism that could lead to this kind of long-sought specificity for treatments of strokes and seizures. >>

<< it really comes down to chemistry >> Hiro Furukawa.

Brian Stallard. Targeting 'hidden pocket' for treatment of stroke and seizure. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.  Jan 19, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-01-hidden-pocket-treatment-seizure.html

Michael C. Regan, Zongjian Zhu, et al. Structural elements of a pH-sensitive inhibitor binding site in NMDA receptors. Nature Comm. 10 (321). Jan 18, 2019 doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-08291-1

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08291-1

# behav: outrage does not make revolution

<< If you're angry about the political feud that drove the federal government to partially shut down, or about a golden parachute for a CEO who ran a business into the ground, you aren't alone-but you probably won't do much about it, according to new research by Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. >>

Relying on karma: Research explains why outrage doesn't usually result in revolution. Carnegie Mellon University.  Jan 15, 2019

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-01-karma-outrage-doesnt-result-revolution.html

<< Across four experiments, (AA) show that people respond quite differently to correct these two types of injustices. When bad things happen to good people, individuals are eager to compensate a good person’s losses, but only do so to a small degree. In contrast, when a good thing happens to a bad person, because the only perceived appropriate act of punishment is to fully strip the bad actor of all his or her illegitimate gains, few people choose to punish in this costly way. However, when they do, they do so to very large degrees. Moreover, we demonstrate that differential psychological mechanisms drive this asymmetry. >>

Jeff Galak, Rosalind M. Chow. Compensate a little, but punish a lot: Asymmetric routes to restoring justice.   PLoS ONE 14(1): e0210676. Jan 10, 2019. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210676

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0210676

# gst: it does not seem either completely chaotic, nor completely organized

<< Contrary to prevailing theories, the first results of POLAR reveal that the high energy photons coming from gamma ray bursts are neither completely chaotic, nor completely organized, but a mixture of the two.  Within short time intervals, the photons are found to oscillate in the same direction, but the oscillation direction changes with time. >>

The orderly chaos of black holes. University of Geneva. Jan 14, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-01-orderly-chaos-black-holes.html

Shuang-Nan Zhang, Merlin Kole, et al. Detailed polarization measurements of the prompt emission of five gamma-ray bursts. Nature Astronomy (2019) Jan 14 doi: 10.1038/s41550-018-0664-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0664-0

# evol: nonlinear effects in shaping human evolution, the role of viruses

<< Human evolution used to be depicted as a straight line, gradually progressing from an ape-like ancestor to modern Homo sapiens. But thanks to next-generation sequencing, findings in recent years have shown that it wasn’t quite so orderly. Now, a new study is reporting new details about the role of viruses in shaping evolution, in particular, viral interactions between modern humans and Neanderthals. >>

<< Many Neanderthal sequences have been lost in modern humans, but some stayed and appear to have quickly increased to high frequencies at the time of contact, suggestive of their selective benefits at that time, >> Dmitri Petrov

New study reports the role of viruses in shaping evolution. Oct 5, 2018.

https://thesurg.com/virus-shaping-evolution

AA << hypothesized that interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans led to (1) the exposure of each species to novel viruses and (2) the exchange of adaptive alleles that provided resistance against these viruses. >>

David Enard, Dmitri A. Petrov. Evidence that RNA Viruses Drove Adaptive Introgression between Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Cell. 175 (2) P360-371.E13 Oct 4, 2018.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)31095-X 

# acad: producing better research from diversity.

<< Improving the participation of under-represented groups is not just fairer - it could produce better research. >>

<< some studies suggest that a team with a good mix of perspectives is associated with increased productivity. >>

Editorial. Science benefits from diversity. Nature 558, 5 (2018). Jun 6. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-05326-3

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05326-3 

Kendall Powell. These labs are remarkably diverse -  here’s why they’re winning at science. Nature 558, 19-22 (2018) Jun 6. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-05316-5.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05316-5