# gst: apropos of vanishing, strange behaviors, 'sometimes they are there, and then for very long periods of time, they are not.'

AA << report the discovery of two long-term intermittent radio pulsars in the ongoing Pulsar Arecibo L-Band Feed Array survey. >>

<<  PSRs J1910+0517 and J1929+1357 show long-term extreme bimodal intermittency, switching between active (ON) and inactive (OFF) emission states and indicating the presence of a large, hitherto unrecognized underlying population of such objects. >>

<< This is the first time that a significant evolution in the activity of an intermittent pulsar has been seen, and we show that the spin-down rate of the pulsar is proportional to the activity. >>

Lyne AG,  Stappers BW, et al. Two Long-Term Intermittent Pulsars Discovered in the PALFA Survey. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 834, Issue 1, article id. 72, 9 pp. (2017).

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ApJ...834...72L

<< A new discovery has upended the widely held view that all pulsars are orderly ticking clocks of the universe. A survey done at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has fortuitously discovered two extremely strange pulsars that undergo a "cosmic vanishing act." Sometimes they are there, and then for very long periods of time, they are not. >>

The Mystery of Part Time Pulsars. Arecibo Observatory. Jul 18, 2017.

https://www.naic.edu/ao/blog/mystery-part-time-pulsars

# phys: apropos of "Wigner’s Friend" paradox, now tested in a real experiment ...

<< Back in 1961, the Nobel Prize–winning physicist Eugene Wigner outlined a thought experiment that demonstrated one of the lesser-known paradoxes of quantum mechanics. The experiment shows how the strange nature of the universe allows two observers-say, Wigner and Wigner’s friend-to experience different realities. >>

<< Last year, (..) physicists noticed that recent advances in quantum technologies have made it possible to reproduce the Wigner’s Friend test in a real experiment. In other words, it ought to be possible to create different realities and compare them in the lab to find out whether they can be reconciled. >>

A quantum experiment suggests there’s no such thing as objective reality. Emerging Technology from the arXiv.  Mar 12, 2019.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613092/a-quantum-experiment-suggests-theres-no-such-thing-as-objective-reality/

https://twitter.com/techreview/status/1116923783183519744

Massimiliano Proietti, Alexander Pickston, et al. Experimental rejection of observer-independence in the quantum world.  arXiv:1902.05080  Feb 13, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.05080

Also

Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon (1915)

https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABnosuke_Akutagawa

https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon

# phys: to characterize the tiny fluctuations in the vacuum, in detail

<< In quantum physics, a vacuum is not empty, but rather steeped in tiny fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. Until recently it was impossible to study those vacuum fluctuations directly. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method that allows them to characterize the fluctuations in detail. >>

Oliver Morsch. Fluc­tu­a­tions in the void. ETH Zurich. Apr 11, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-04-fluctuations-void.html

<< A direct method of determining the spectral characteristics of vacuum field fluctuations has so far been missing. >>

AA << perform a direct measurement of the field correlation on these fluctuations in the terahertz frequency range by using electro-optic detection  in a nonlinear crystal placed in a cryogenic environment  >>

Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus, Francesca Fabiana Settembrini, et al.
Electric field correlation measurements on the electromagnetic vacuum state. Nature. volume 568, pages202–206 (2019) Apr 10.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1083-9

# brain: Simulating the decision-making process of a partner monkey

<< Primates observe the choices of social partners to learn about the reward value of objects. Such values learned from observation not only inform own decision-making but may also provide a basis for understanding the decisions of others. (..) These cognitive processes-learning from others and predicting their choices-are critical foundations for primates' sophisticated social behavior.  >>

AA << show that monkeys' amygdala neurons derive object values from observation and use these values to simulate a partner monkey’s decision process. >>

Fabian Grabenhorst, Raymundo Báez-Mendoza, et al.  Primate Amygdala Neurons Simulate Decision Processes of Social Partners.  Apr 11, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.02.042.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30225-9

'Mindreading' neurons simulate decisions of social partners. University of Cambridge.  Apr 11, 2019.

https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-mindreading-neurons-simulate-decisions-social.html

# astro: the first picture of a black hole at the heart of galaxy Messier 87.

<< We have taken the first picture of a black hole, (..) This is an extraordinary scientific feat accomplished by a team of more than 200 researchers. (..) We have achieved something presumed to be impossible just a generation ago, (..)  Breakthroughs in technology, connections between the world's best radio observatories, and innovative algorithms all came together to open an entirely new window on black holes and the event horizon. >> Sheperd S. Doeleman

<< This breakthrough was announced today in a series of six papers published in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.  >>

<< The telescopes contributing to this result were ALMA, APEX, the IRAM 30-meter telescope, the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano, the Submillimeter Array, the Submillimeter Telescope, and the South Pole Telescope. Petabytes of raw data from the telescopes were combined by highly specialised supercomputers hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and MIT Haystack Observatory. >>

Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black Hole. An international collaboration presents paradigm-shifting observations of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of distant galaxy Messier 87. Apr 10, 2019.

https://eventhorizontelescope.org  

The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration et al.  First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole.   2019 ApJL 875 L4

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0e85

# qubit: to simulate 16 futures simultaneously by quantum superposition, the beginning

<< Simulations of stochastic processes play an important role in the quantitative sciences, enabling the characterisation of complex systems. >>

AA << demonstrate interference of two 16-dimensional quantum states, representing statistical futures of (the) process, with a visibility of 0.96 ± 0.02. >>

Farzad Ghafari, Nora Tischler, et al.
Interfering trajectories in experimental quantum-enhanced stochastic simulation. Nature  Comm Volume 10, Article number: 1630 (2019)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08951-2   

Gu Mile. Scientists build a machine to generate quantum superposition of possible futures. School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University.  April 9, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-machine-quantum-superposition-futures.html   

# epidem: silent invasions, the case of Candida auris.

<< Bacteria are rebelling  >>

<< The germ, a fungus called Candida auris, preys on people with weakened immune systems, and it is quietly spreading across the globe. >>

Matt Richtel,  Andrew Jacobs. DEADLY GERMS, LOST CURES. A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy. The rise of Candida auris embodies a serious and growing public health threat: drug-resistant germs. NYT. April 6, 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/health/drug-resistant-candida-auris.html

<< The recent rate of emergence of pathogenic fungi that are resistant to the limited number of commonly used antifungal agents is unprecedented. The azoles, for example, are used not only for human and animal health care and crop protection but also in antifouling coatings and timber preservation. The ubiquity and multiple uses of azoles have hastened the independent evolution of resistance in many environments. One consequence is an increasing risk in human health care from naturally occurring opportunistic fungal pathogens that have acquired resistance to this broad class of chemicals. >>

Matthew C. Fisher, Nichola J. Hawkins, et al.  Worldwide emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs challenges human health and food security. Science  May 18, 2018
Vol. 360, Issue 6390, pp. 739-742  doi: 10.1126/science.aap7999

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6390/739

FonT

Per nostra - di noi umani - fortuna oggi si puo' analizzare, studiare ed eventualmente manipolare in modo fine il codice genetico di virus, batteri, etc. grazie alla tecnica CRISPR, tecnica a suo tempo (e per molto tempo) considerata di nessuna importanza da entita' di alta- altissima luminescenza ...

Eric S. Lander. The Heroes of CRISPR.
Cell. 14 January 2016, Vol.164(1): 18–28, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.12.041

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867415017055

Also: "CRISPR"

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

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/?term=crispr