# behav: backward walking, navigational uncertainties (among Cataglyphis velox)

<< Current opinion in insect navigation assumes that animals need to align with the goal direction to recognise familiar views and approach it. Yet, ants sometimes drag heavy food items backward to the nest and it is still unclear to what extent they rely on visual memories while doing so. >>

<< ants do indeed recognise and use the learnt visual scenery to guide their path while walking backward. In addition, the results show that backward homing ants estimate their directional certainty by combining visual familiarity with other cues such as their path integrator and the time spent backward. >>

Sebastian Schwarz, Leo Clement, et al.  How do backward walking ants (Cataglyphis velox) cope with navigational uncertainty? doi: 10.1101/2019.12.16.877704. Dec 17, 2019.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2019.12.16.877704v1

# life: a case of extreme swing (3): he's impeachable/ impeached, or (maybe) not

<< Now that the House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump, what is the constitutional status of the two articles of impeachment? Must they be transmitted to the Senate to trigger a trial, or could they be held back by the House until the Senate decides what the trial will look like, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has hinted?  The Constitution doesn’t say how fast the articles must go to the Senate. Some modest delay is not inconsistent with the Constitution, or how both chambers usually work. >>

<< Strictly speaking, "impeachment" occurred – and occurs - when the articles of impeachment are presented to the Senate for trial. And at that point, the Senate is obliged by the Constitution to hold a trial. >>

Noah Feldman. Trump Isn’t Impeached Until the House Tells the Senate

According to the Constitution, impeachment is a process, not a vote.  Dec 19,  2019. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2019-12-19/trump-impeachment-delay-could-be-serious-problem-for-democrats

Also

"extreme swing" in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=extreme+swing

# gst: the complex dynamics of a transition

<< The transition state is a central concept of chemistry (..) Everything we think about in reactions really hinges on the structure of the transition state, which we cannot directly observe. >> Robert Field.

<< there are two different mechanisms competing for transition states, >>

<< there are additional reaction mechanisms beyond those two, >>

Chemists glimpse the fleeting 'transition state' of a reaction. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dec 16, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-chemists-glimpse-fleeting-transition-state.html

# gst: a hexagonal pattern of six cyclones (Jupiter, by NASA)

<< In this annotated infrared image, six cyclones form a hexagonal pattern around a central cyclone at Jupiter's south pole. The image was generated from data collected by NJASA’s Juno spacecraft on Nov. 4, 2019 >>

Tony Greicius. NASA's Juno Navigators Enable Jupiter Cyclone Discovery.  Dec. 13, 2019. 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-juno-navigators-enable-jupiter-cyclone-discovery

A New Cyclone Joins the Jovian Fray.  NASA. Dec 12, 2019. 

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA23558

# life: oops! trust in (British) politics

<< In previous British elections, to say that trust was the main issue would have meant simply that trust is the trump card – whichever leader or party could secure most trust would win. Now, the emerging question about trust is whether it even matters anymore. >>

<< Even many Labour voters don’t rate their leader as trustworthy. Neil Hall/EPA >>

<< These are moral judgements of the utmost significance. So it suggests that British democracy is in some moral jeopardy, when the leaders of the two major parties, the only likely candidates for the premiership, were rated so low on trustworthiness by the public, including supporters of their own party. For example, according to one YouGov poll, 53% of respondents thought Johnson untrustworthy, while for Corbyn the figure was 57%. (..) These figures suggest not only seriously depleted trust but also a substantial readiness amongst voters to separate trustworthiness from electability.  (..) A lack of trustable people creates insecurity, and in this anxious environment some people will want to convince themselves, whatever the evidence, that they have found a trustworthy leader.  (..) On that front, the most significant outcome may not be the seats won by the competing parties, but the national profile as expressed in the popular vote, and what it tells us about whether trust matters. >>

Barry Richards. We should look closely at Britain’s decision to elect a man so renowned for his untrustworthiness. 

Bournemouth University. Dec 13, 2019. 

https://theconversation.com/we-should-look-closely-at-britains-decision-to-elect-a-man-so-renowned-for-his-untrustworthiness-128733

<< Johnson is regularly accused of hiding who he really is, but maybe that’s not actually the case at all. He has left enough clues along the way for us to build a picture of the man he is – and the British public has decided they are fine with it. >>

Laura Hood. Boris Johnson’s big election victory: academics on what it means for the UK and Brexit. Dec13, 2019.

https://theconversation.com/boris-johnsons-big-election-victory-academics-on-what-it-means-for-the-uk-and-brexit-128850

# life: JARexit Flight Dynamics ...

keyword "JARexit" in FonT

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

"1878-onda ricorsiva"

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2005/09/1878-onda-ricorsiva.html

Also

harmonica flight, by Michael Stipe ("Bad Day", time 10:15)  in: R.E.M. - June 3 2005 - Rockpalast - Rock am Ring - Nürburg Germany  

https://youtu.be/rD9BSKNcn0g

# behav: a great white shark at rest

<< Great white sharks are known for racing past the Mid-Atlantic states to get someplace else, so experts pay attention in rare cases when one not only stops, but stays put.

That's happening now along the Virginia-North Carolina border with a 10-foot, 3-inch male tracked by OCEARCH.

"It's interesting watching white shark Shaw since unlike other sharks on the Tracker, he has been hanging out off the Virginia coast for over a month," OCEARCH posted Tuesday on Facebook. >>

Mark Price. Experts puzzled as 10-foot great white shark stays a month in one spot off East Coast.  Dec 10, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-experts-puzzled-foot-great-white.html

Ocearch. Dec 4, 2019

https://m.facebook.com/OCEARCH/posts/10162443074005167

Also

The long (and slow) life of Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). Aug 16, 2016. 

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/08/s-ageing-long-and-slow-life-of.html