# life: apropos of transient dynamics, a predator–prey system seems to long-term survive without self-destruction

<< Predator-prey cycles rank among the most fundamental concepts in ecology, are predicted by the simplest ecological models and enable, theoretically, the indefinite persistence of predator and prey. However, it remains an open question for how long cyclic dynamics can be self-sustained in real communities.  >>

Bernd Blasius, Lars Rudolf, et al. Long-term cyclic persistence in an experimental predator–prey system. Nature doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1857-0. Dec 18, 2019.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1857-0

<<  It will be important to bring together this work (..) with theoretical models that are currently being developed. Doing so should provide more insights into the role of transient dynamics in natural systems. >>

Long-term predator–prey cycles finally achieved in the lab. Nature. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-03603-3. Dec 18, 2019

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03603-3

# gst: the emergence of a phase transition during asynchronous neural activities

<< The activity of a sparse network of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons is carefully revisited with reference to a regime of a bona-fide asynchronous dynamics. (..) The comparison between quenched and annealed (i.e. in setups where the synaptic connections are continuously randomly reshuffled) networks reveals the emergence of substantial differences when the coupling strength is increased, via a scenario somehow reminiscent of a phase transition. >>

Ekkehard Ullner, Antonio Politi, Alessandro Torcini. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of asynchronous neural activity. arXiv:1912.09207v1 [q-bio.NC]. Dec 19, 2019. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.09207

# brain: the memory switch p75NTR

<< many molecular and environmental factors have been studied to understand how synaptic plasticity is modulated. Sleep, as an evolutionary conserved biological function, has shown to be a critical player for the consolidation and filtering of synaptic circuitry underlying memory traces. Although sleep disturbances do not alter normal memory consolidation, they may reflect fundamental circuit malfunctions that can play a significant role in exacerbating diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer's disease. (..) This paper will review the role of the p75NTR (p75 neurotrophic receptor), critically discuss the impact and implications of this research as the bridge for sleep research and neurological diseases.>>

Shen Ning, Mehdi Jorfi. p75NTR as a Molecular Memory Switch.  arXiv: 1912.11449v1 [q-bio.NC]. Dec 24, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11449

# pharma: a 'magical' (engineered) Escherichia coli to produce psychedelic psilocybin

<< Psilocybin, the prodrug of the psychoactive molecule psilocin, has demonstrated promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of addiction, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.  >>

AA << present the development of a modular biosynthetic production platform in the model microbe, Escherichia coli. (..) This is the highest psilocybin titer achieved to date from a recombinant organism and a significant step towards demonstrating the feasibility of industrial production of biologically-derived psilocybin. >>

Alexandra M.Adams, Nicholas A.Kaplan, et al. In vivo production of psilocybin in E. coli. Metabolic Engineering. Volume 56, pages 111-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.09.009. Sep 21, 2019.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109671761930309X

Tanya Lewis. E. coli Could Produce a Popular Psychedelic for Therapeutic Use. Scientists engineered the bacterium to produce psilocybin. SCIAM. 322, 1, 16. Jan 2020.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/e-coli-could-produce-a-popular-psychedelic-for-therapeutic-use/

Also

keyword 'magic' in FonT

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

# gst: scrambling does not necessitate chaos.

<< Focusing on semiclassical systems, (AA) show that the parametrically long exponential growth of out-of-time order correlators (OTOCs), also known as scrambling, does not necessitate chaos. Indeed, scrambling can simply result from the presence of unstable fixed points in phase space, even in an integrable model. >>

Tianrui Xu, Thomas Scaffidi, Xiangyu Cao. Does scrambling equal chaos? arXiv:1912.11063v1 [cond-mat.stat-mech] Dec 23, 2019.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11063

# phys: three forms of ambiguity in the definition of entanglement

<< A more general definition (of entanglement) was published by Thaller, (B. Thaller, Advanced Visual Quantum Mechanics, (Springer 2005) p218) "A state of a compound system is called entangled if it cannot be written as a single tensor product of subsystem states. A state in the product form is called unentangled or separable."  >>

The paper << discusses experiments with single-particle systems, some of whose states appear to be entangled. (..) Three forms of ambiguity are discussed. The choice of state-space and its dimensions is a matter of taste. There is not an a-priori natural partitioning of the state-space. The observables are not necessarily experimentally accessible and only determined by theory-laden extrapolation from experimental results. >>

Robert Shaw. Single-particle entanglement and three forms of ambiguity. arXiv:1912.11349v1 [physics.hist-ph]. Dec 22, 2019

https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11349

# life: squeezing jaraca' (Bothrops jararaca)

<< Dozens of poisonous snake species, including the jararaca, thrive in Brazil's hot and humid climate. >>

<< Venom is extracted from each snake once a month in a delicate and potentially dangerous process. >>

Brazil milks deadly snakes for their life-saving venom.  Dec 10, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-12-brazil-deadly-snakes-life-saving-venom.html