# gst: programmed cell death (apoptosis) also in algae

<< bacteria that live on single-cellular algae can cause programmed cell death. "It is the first documentation of true apoptosis via bacterial pathogens in microorganisms like algae," >>  Rebecca Case.

Study shows first evidence bacterial-induced apoptosis in algae. University of Alberta.  Mar 21, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-evidence-bacterial-induced-apoptosis-algae.html    

Anna R. Bramucci, Rebecca J. Case.
Phaeobacter inhibens induces apoptosis-like programmed cell death in calcifying Emiliania huxleyi. Scientific Reports. Volume 9, Article number: 5215 (2019) March 21.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-36847-6  

# gst geo: a model of a cascading, zig-zag fashion earthquake on weak crustal faults

<< The model confirmed that the Kaikoura earthquake involved a complex cascade of fault ruptures, which propagated in a zig-zag fashion. Propagation velocities along the individual fault systems were not unusually slow, but the complex geometry of the fault network and delays at the transitions between fault segments led to a tortuous rupture path.  >>

A surprising, cascading earthquake. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Mar 20, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-cascading-earthquake.html

<< the complex fault system operates at low apparent friction thanks to the combined effects of overpressurized fluids, low dynamic friction and stress concentrations induced by deep fault creep. >>

Thomas Ulrich, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, et al. Dynamic viability of the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake cascade on weak crustal faults. Nature Comm. volume 10, Article number: 1213 (2019) Mar 14

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09125-w

# gst phyto: how cheaters are favored

<< Our data show that natural selection favors cheating rhizobia, and support predictions that rhizobia can often subvert plant defenses and evolve to exploit hosts, >> Joel Sachs.

<< The study (..) is the first to uncover cheater strains in natural populations and show how natural selection favors them. >>

Study finds natural selection favors cheaters. University of California - Riverside. Mar 19, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-natural-favors-cheaters.html

<< Legumes have mechanisms to defend against rhizobia that fail to fix sufficient nitrogen, but these data support predictions that rhizobia can subvert plant defenses and evolve to exploit hosts. >>

Kelsey A. Gano‐Cohen, Camille E. Wendlandt, et al. Interspecific conflict and the evolution of ineffective rhizobia. Ecology Letters. Mar 18, 2019 doi: 10.1111/ele.13247

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.13247

# gst: the auto assembly of a drop (from thermal capillary waves)

<< after single or multiple bridges form due to the presence of thermal capillary waves, the bridge growth commences in a thermal regime. Here, the bridges expand linearly in time much faster than the viscous-capillary speed due to collective molecular jumps near the bridge fronts. Transition to the classical hydrodynamic regime only occurs once the bridge radius exceeds a thermal length scale l_(T) ~ sqrt(Radius). >>

Sreehari Perumanath, Matthew K. Borg, et al. Droplet Coalescence is Initiated by Thermal Motion. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 104501 Mar 13, 2019.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.104501

Supercomputer sheds light on how droplets merge. University of Edinburgh. Mar 20, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-supercomputer-droplets-merge.html

# brain: a pause (acyclic pauses?) approach to enhance and manage creativity

AA << find that participants  with quantity incentives outperform  the high creativity production of their fixed-pay counterparts only in the second-stage task, after the incubation period. Mediation analyses suggest that quantity-incentivized participants’ propensity to try more divergent ideas in the first stage sparks their creativity advantage in the second stage. >>

Steven J. Kachelmeier, Laura W.  Wang, Michael G. Williamson. Incentivizing the Creative Process:  From Initial Quantity to Eventual Creativity. Accounting Review. 2019 March (preprint).

http://aaahq.org/Portals/0/newsroom/Incentivizing%20the%20Creative%20Process.pdf

To stoke creativity, crank out ideas and then step away.  University of Texas at Austin. Mar 22, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-stoke-creativity-crank-ideas.html  

Also

2123 - le dislocazioni pausali di Theo. Feb 26, 2007.

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2007/02/2123-le-dislocazioni-pausali-di-theo.html

2107 - coll'anse d'apostrofo. Jan 14, 2007

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2007/01/2107-coll-anse-d-apostrofo.html

# brain behav: a hypothesis of 'loss of self' when they have to assume a 'fictional perspective'

In a functional MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study, AA << sought to identify brain regions preferentially activated when actors adopt a Fic1P (fictional first-person) perspective during dramatic role playing. >>

<< Compared to responding as oneself, responding in character produced global reductions in brain activity and, particularly, deactivations in the cortical midline network of the frontal lobe, including the dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. Thus, portraying a character through acting seems to be a deactivation-driven process, perhaps representing a 'loss of self'. >>

Steven Brown, Peter Cockett, Ye Yuan. The neuroscience of Romeo and Juliet: an fMRI study of acting. Royal Society Open Science. Mar 13, 2019 doi:.10.1098/rsos.181908

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181908

<< It is often said that great actors lose themselves in their roles, and now a brain activity study shows that is more than just a turn of phrase. >>

Chelsea Whyte. Brain scans reveal actors lose their sense of self when acting a role. March 13, 2019.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2196303-brain-scans-reveal-actors-lose-their-sense-of-self-when-acting-a-role/amp/

# phys: a base-level fuzziness; black holes and strange metals go to extremes in some common way

<< black holes and strange metals go to extremes in some common way (..)  electrons inside a variety of ceramic crystals called "cuprates" seem to dissipate energy as quickly as possible, apparently bumping up against a fundamental quantum speed limit. >>

<<  ħ is the quantum unit of uncertainty:  an inescapable, base-level fuzziness in nature >>

Natalie Wolchover. Universal Quantum Phenomenon Found in Strange Metals.   Nov 19, 2018.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/universal-quantum-phenomenon-found-in-superconductors-20181119/

https://twitter.com/QuantaMagazine/status/1104730889500745731

A. Legros, S. Benhabib, et al. Universal T-linear resistivity and Planckian dissipation in overdoped cuprates. Nature Physics. volume 15, pages 142–147 (2019).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-018-0334-2