# ai.bot: adaptive robotics, the beginning

<< The goal of Zhao's lab is to create small, lightweight robots that can reconfigure themselves in response to a need. "In general, if you have a robot, its mechanical structure is fixed," says Zhao [Jianguo Zhao], an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "If we can change the mechanical structure on the fly, without redesigning the robot, this is pretty useful, especially if the robot is very small … I don't think many people are trying to do that." >>

Anne Manning. These robots are small, shape-shifting, and they adapt to their surroundings. Colorado State University. Mar 6, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-robots-small-shape-shifting.html 

https://engr.source.colostate.edu/these-robots-are-small-shape-shifting-and-they-adapt-to-their-surroundings/

# behav: how to gain a competitive advantage over larger rivals by teaming up with another species (among the beetles Nicrophorus vespilloides)

AA << report that conflict within burying beetles Nicrophorus vespilloides influences the fitness that can be gained from interacting with the mite Poecilochirus carabi. Beetles transport these mites to carrion, upon which both species breed.  >>

Syuan‐Jyun Sun, Nicholas P.C. Horrocks,  Rebecca M. Kilner. Conflict within species determines the value of a mutualism between species. Evolution Letters. Mar 6, 2019. doi: 10.1002/evl3.109.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.109

<< In a study featuring a miniature 'gym' for beetles (complete with beetle treadmills), [AA] found that beetles who consistently lose out to members of their own species have the most to gain by forming a mutually-beneficial cross-species partnership. >>

Mighty mites give scrawny beetles the edge over bigger rivals. University of Cambridge. Mar 5, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-mighty-mites-scrawny-beetles-edge.html

# gst astro: approaches to hack a black hole (to distinguish scrambled information from noise)

paper.1

Adam Mann. Physicists May Have Found a Way to 'Untangle' Information Trapped in a Black Hole. Mar 6, 2019

https://www.livescience.com/64935-black-hole-information-paradox.html

K. A. Landsman, C. Figgatt, et al. Verified quantum information scrambling. Nature. volume 567, pages 61–65 (2019) Mar 6,  2019.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0952-6

paper.2

Mike McRae. Physicists Want to Use Quantum Particles to Find Out What Happens Inside a Black Hole. Mar 6, 2019.

https://www.sciencealert.com/entangled-particles-could-help-reveal-the-hidden-workings-of-black-holes

Beni Yoshida, Norman Y. Yao. Disentangling Scrambling and Decoherence via Quantum Teleportation. Phys. Rev. X 9, 011006. Jan 9, 2019

https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011006

# gst astro: when a superbubble can generate trains of shock waves

<< Sixty-seven million light-years away, a galaxy is blowing enormous bubbles. We know what they are. Known as nuclear superbubbles, the structures are likely created by the supermassive black hole in the galaxy's centre. Now, thanks to new data, we know something incredible is occurring inside them. >>

<< Observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory of spiral galaxy NGC 3079 have revealed that the bubbles are actually a huge cosmic particle accelerator, producing energetic high-speed particles around their edges.  >>

<< As the bubbles expand into the surrounding gas of the interstellar medium, they generate shock waves, which in turn produce tangled magnetic fields. (..)  particles ricochet around these shock magnetic fields; when they pass through the shock front, they get an acceleration boost.  >>

Michelle Starr. Astronomers Have Found 'Superbubbles' Producing Shock Waves in Another Galaxy.  Mar 4, 2019.

https://www.sciencealert.com/colossal-bubbles-blown-by-a-supermassive-black-hole-are-a-cosmic-particle-accelerator

Jiang-Tao Li, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, et al. Detection of non-thermal hard X-ray emission from the "Fermi bubble" in an external galaxy.  ApJ in press. arXiv:1901.10536v1 [astro-ph.HE] Jan 31, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.10536

# astro: quiescent black holes abound in our Galaxy

AA << results provide new circumstantial evidences for a wandering intermediate-mass black hole in the Galactic center, suggesting also that high-velocity compact clouds can be probes of quiescent black holes abound in our Galaxy. >>

Shunya Takekawa, Tomoharu Oka, et al.  Indication of Another Intermediate - mass Black Hole in the Galactic Center. arXiv: 1812.10733v1 [astro-ph.GA]  doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/aafb07

https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.10733

"The Invisible Galaxy" - 100 Million Black Holes Lurking in the Milky Way (Weekend Feature). Mar 2, 2019

https://dailygalaxy.com/2019/03/the-invisible-galaxy-100-million-black-holes-lurking-in-the-milky-way-weekend-feature/

# gst phyto: an evidence for alternative transient states

AA << have discovered that plant communities follow different trajectories when they adapt to dryer conditions than when they adapt to more frequently flooded conditions. Further, in two side studies in the same experiment they found that flooding history of the vegetation alter the response of germinating seeds and of litter decomposition to the current conditions. >>

<< This is one of the most direct experimental evidence to date for alternative transient states, >> Judith Sarneel.

Plant communities do not take the same route from A to B as from B to A. Umea University. Feb 25, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-02-route.html

Judith M. Sarneel  Maria Dolores Bejarano, et al. Local flooding history affects plant recruitment in riparian zones. Journal of Vegetation Science.
doi: 10.1111/jvs.12731 Feb 3, 2019

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jvs.12731

# behav: familiarity vs. aggression (among the fish Poecilia formosa)

<< Contrary to our predictions, fish that were the most familiar with each other showed the highest levels of aggression. Additionally, fish that were less familiar with each other exhibited the highest group cohesion and took the longest to begin feeding, compared to the more familiar fish. >>

Carolina Doran, David Bierbach, Kate L. Laskowski.  Familiarity increases aggressiveness among clonal fish. Animal Behaviour. Volume 148, February 2019, Pages 153-159. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.013

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347218303725?via%3Dihub

Fish with a high level of familiarity are more aggressive towards each other. Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB). Feb 19, 2019

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-02-fish-high-familiarity-aggressive.html