# gst: apropos of strange fluctuations in oscillation and translation

<< The dynamical processes of the inner core rely significantly on the viscous strength of iron. Since plastic deformation of iron may produce crystallographic preferred orientations  (CPO), creep is commonly considered to be a potential source contributing to the seismic anisotropy observed in the inner core. The viscosity of the inner core also influences the rotational dynamics of the Earth. >>

AA << show  that  dislocation  creep  is  a key  mechanism driving  deformation  of  hcp (hexagonal  close  packed) iron  at  inner  core  conditions. The  associated  viscosity  agrees well  with  the  estimates  from  geophysical  observations  supporting  that  the  inner  core  is  significantly less  viscous  than  the  Earth’s  mantle. Such  low  viscosity  rules  out  inner  core  translation,  with  melting on one side  and  solidification  on  the  opposite,  but  allows  for  the  occurrence  of  the  seismically  observed fluctuations  in  inner  core  differential  rotation. >>

Sebastian Ritterbex & Taku Tsuchiya. Viscosity of hcp iron at Earth’s inner core conditions from density functional theory. Sci Rep 10, 6311 (2020). doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63166-6. Apr 14, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63166-6

Is the Earth's inner core oscillating and translating anomalously? Ehime University.  Apr 14, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-earth-core-oscillating-anomalously.html

# phys: bizarre, cosmic mysteries, when spin particles bump up from 1/2 to 3/2 and more

<< spin is essential when delving into virtually any topic governed by quantum mechanics (..) Yet after almost a century of playing a central role in quantum research, questions about spin remain. For example, why do all the elementary particles that we know about only have spin values of 0, 1/2, or 1? And what new behaviors might exist for particles with spin values greater than 1? The first question may remain a cosmic mystery, but there are opportunities to explore the second. (..)  In the past couple years, researchers have discovered materials in which electrons behave like their spin has been bumped up, from 1/2 to 3/2. (..)  (recently, AA) explored the new behaviors these spins might produce .>>

Bailey Bedford. Peeking into a world of spin-3/2 materials. Joint Quantum Institute. Apr 16, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-peeking-world-spin-materials.html

AA << study, for the first time, the effects of strong short-range electron-electron interactions (..) (they) combine symmetry considerations and a perturbative renormalization group analysis to discern three interacting phases that are prone to emerge in the strongly correlated regime (..) (AA) find that symmetry breaking occurs at weaker coupling if the total monopole charge remains constant across the transition. >>

Igor Boettcher. Interplay of Topology and Electron-Electron Interactions in Rarita-Schwinger-Weyl semimetals. 

Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 127602. Mar 27, 2020.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.127602

# life: how humans could mutate, step by step, into proto- alien entities ...

AA << studied the brain after long-duration space flight. The authors performed serial MRI on 11 of 54 eligible International Space Station astronauts (10 men, one woman; five astronauts had previous exposure to spaceflight; mean mission duration almost 6 months), both preflight and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after spaceflight. They found that prolonged microgravity exposure caused the following brain changes: (a) an approximate 2% expansion of brain and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) volumes, attributable to both white matter and lateral ventricular measurements, and these remained elevated at 1-year after spaceflight, suggesting permanent alterations; (b) a 13% increase in mean CSF intraventricular (aqueductal) flow velocity, suggesting a reduction in intracranial compliance; and (c) in roughly half (six of 11 astronauts), depression of the pituitary dome compared with baseline (average midline height decreased from 5.9 to 5.3 mm), suggesting elevated intracranial pressure during spaceflight. >>

Michael H. Lev. The Long-term Effects of Spaceflight on Human Brain Physiology. Radiology. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020201164. Apr 14, 2020.

https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020201164

Chelsea Gohd. Space travel can seriously change your brain. Apr 14, 2020.

https://www.space.com/brain-changes-in-space-astronaut-health-study.html

# gst: unusual properties of substances trapped in nanobubbles.

AA << modeled the behavior of nanobubbles appearing in van der Waals heterostructures and the behavior of substances trapped inside the bubbles. >>

<< The properties exhibited by substances inside the van der Waals nanobubbles are quite unusual. For example, water trapped inside a nanobubble displays a tenfold decrease in its dielectric constant and etches the diamond surface, something it would never do under normal conditions. Argon which typically exists in liquid form when in large quantities can become solid at the same pressure if trapped inside very small nanobubbles with a radius of less than 50 nanometers. >>

Substances trapped in nanobubbles exhibit unusual properties. Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. April 14, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-substances-nanobubbles-unusual-properties.html

T. F. Aslyamov,  E. S. Iakovlev, et al. Model of graphene nanobubble: Combining classical density functional and elasticity theories. J. Chem. Phys. 152, 054705. Feb 3, 2020. 

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5138687

# gene: stuttering, syncopated (but not junk) codes

<< All organisms have DNA, the genetic material that provides a blueprint for life. The long double-helix-shaped DNA molecules in the body's cells are first translated into RNA molecules and then translated into proteins that ensure the functioning of the cell and the entire organism. But there are large parts of the DNA that are not used for making proteins. This is called 'junk DNA', because its function remained unclear for a long time. However, a certain type of junk DNA that is found in mosquitoes and which repeats itself dozens of times, known as 'satellite DNA', has now been shown to play an essential role in the early development of mosquito embryos. >>

Stuttering DNA orchestrates the start of the mosquito's life. Radboud University Medical Center. Apr 9, 2020.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200409100332.htm 

AA << results reveal a mechanism by which satellite repeats regulate global gene expression in trans via piRNA-mediated gene silencing that is essential for embryonic development. >>

Rebecca Halbach, Pascal Miesen, et al. A satellite repeat-derived piRNA controls embryonic development of Aedes. Nature 580, 274–277. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2159-2. 

Apr 1, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2159-2

Also

keyword 'piRNA' in ncbi pubmed

"piRNA"[all] AND (Review[ptyp]) AND ("last 3 years"[PDat])

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

# gst: ab.normal (fuzzy, bizarre) Nature; apparently, ancient bacterial parasites could have used CRISPR to self-defense and 'interference' for Ma ...

<< In recent years, the development of CRISPR technologies and gene-editing scissors in particular have taken the world by storm. Indeed, scientists have learned how to harness these clever natural systems in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, among other areas. >>

<< New research (..) shows that we are not the first to find a way to exploit the benefits of the CRISPR technique. Apparently, primitive bacterial parasites have been doing so for millions of years. >>

<< Until recently, CRISPR-Cas was believed to be a defense system used by bacteria to protect themselves against invading parasites such as viruses, much like our very own immune system protects us. However, it appears that CRISPR is a tool that can be used for different purposes by diverse biological entities, (..) Here we found evidence that certain plasmids use type IV CRISPR-Cas systems to fight other plasmids competing over the same bacterial host. >> Rafael Pinilla-Redondo.

Humans are not the first to repurpose CRISPR. University of Copenhagen. Mar 24, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-03-humans-repurpose-crispr.html

Rafael Pinilla-Redondo, David Mayo-Muñoz, et al. Type IV CRISPR–Cas systems are highly diverse and involved in competition between plasmids.  Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 48, Issue 4, Pages 2000–12. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz1197. Dec 27, 2019.

https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/48/4/2000/5687823

Also

keyword 'CRISPR' (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) in PubMed:

 "CRISPR"[all] AND (Review[ptyp]) AND ("last 3 years"[PDat])

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

keyword 'CRISPR' in FonT:

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

keyword 'interferenza' | 'interferente' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry):

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=interferenza

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=interferente

# brain: related noise in perception, like a type of "groupthink"

<< The findings, (..) offer new insights into the limits of perception and could aid in the design of so-called neuroprosthetics-devices that enable people to regain some lost sensory capabilities. >>

<< because neurons are highly interconnected, when one randomly responds incorrectly and misidentifies an image, it can influence other neurons to make the same mistake. >>

<< You can think of correlated noise like a type of 'groupthink,' in which neurons can act like lemmings, with one heedlessly following another into making a mistake, >> Surya Ganguli

<< Remarkably, the visual system is able to cut through about 90% of this neuronal noise, but the remaining 10% places a limit on how finely we can discern between two images that look very similar. >>

<< With this study, we've helped resolve a puzzle that's been around for over 30 years about what limits mammals-and by extension humans-when it comes to sensory perception, >> Mark Schnitzer

Adam Hadhazy. Misfiring from jittery neurons sets fundamental limit on perception.  Stanford University. Apr 9, 2020.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-misfiring-jittery-neurons-fundamental-limit.html

Rumyantsev OI, Lecoq JA, et al. Fundamental bounds on the fidelity of sensory cortical coding. Nature 580, 100–105 doi:.10.1038/ s41586-020-2130-2. Mar 18, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2130-2