# behav: the smart sleep of flies (Drosophila melanogaster)

<< Flies that cannot take to the air respond by sleeping more as they learn to adapt to their flightlessness, (..) The findings, (..) suggest that sleep may be an evolutionary tool that helps animals adapt to challenging new situations. >>

<< Fruit flies' sleep looks a lot like people's. Baby flies need a lot of sleep, but as they get older, their need for sleep diminishes. Flies become more alert with caffeine and drowsier with antihistamines. And if you keep a fly awake one day, it will sleep more the next. >>

Flies sleep when need arises to adapt to new situations. Washington University School of Medicine. May 8, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-flies-situations.html

K. Melnattur, B. Zhang, P. J. Shaw. Disrupting flight increases sleep and identifies a novel sleep-promoting pathway in Drosophila. Sci Adv 

Vol. 6, no. 19, eaaz2166. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz2166. May 8, 2020.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/19/eaaz2166.full

Also

keyword 'Drosophila' in FonT

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

keyword 'mosca' in Notes (quasi- stochastic poetry)

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

# ecol: when a predator could help his prey to adapt to an uncertain future (among the fly Iteomyia salicisverruca) ...

<< The loss of biodiversity is rewiring the web of life; however, it is uncertain how this will affect the ability of remaining populations to evolve and adapt to future environments. >>

AA << conducted a field experiment that either maintained a natural community of predators or removed all but one of the predators that was able to impose selection on a common prey. (They) found that the loss of predators acted to constrain prey evolution toward a particular combination of traits. Moreover, (they) found that the loss of predators could make it more difficult for prey to adapt to uncertain future environments. Taken together, (these) results suggest that the simplification of the web of life may constrain the adaptive potential of remaining populations. >>

Matthew A. Barbour, Christopher J. Greyson‐Gaito, et al. Loss of consumers constrains phenotypic evolution in the resulting food web. Evolution Letters. doi: 10.1002/ evl3.170. Apr 20, 2020. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.170

<< Thinking about the big picture, our study hints at a potential insidious side effect of extinctions, (..) The extinction of natural enemies may compromise the ability of remaining species to adapt and persist in an uncertain and changing world. If this is true, this would put many ecosystems at even greater risk than we currently realize. >> Matthew A. Barbour.

Predators help prey adapt to an uncertain future. University of Zurich. 

 May 4, 2020

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-predators-prey-uncertain-future.html

# gst: the generation of solitary waves to move and direct a pulse-drive bot

<< The unique properties of nonlinear waves have been recently exploited to enable a wide range of applications, including impact mitigation, asymmetric transmission, switching, and focusing. (..) (AA) demonstrate that the propagation of nonlinear waves can be as well harnessed to make flexible structures crawl. By combining experimental and theoretical methods, (they) show that such pulse-driven locomotion reaches a maximum efficiency when the initiated pulses are solitons and that (their) simple machine can move on a wide range of surfaces and even steer. >>

<< nonlinear waves (..) demonstrates that they offer a new platform to make flexible machines to move. >>

Bolei Deng, Liyuan Chen, et al. Pulse-driven robot: Motion via solitary waves. Science Advances. Vol. 6, no. 18, eaaz1166. doi: 10.1126/ sciadv.aaz1166. May 1, 2020. 

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/18/eaaz1166   

Pulse-driven robot: Motion via solitary waves. Thamarasee Jeewandara. May 8, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-pulse-driven-robot-motion-solitary.html    

# gst: shape-shifting dynamics; tiny evolutionary changes have turned a tongue into a fast elastic recoil mech (in salamanders)

<< relatively minor changes in the musculoskeletal morphology of the tongue apparatus and in the timing of muscle activation have, through evolutionary time, transformed a muscle-powered system with modest performance and high thermal sensitivity into a spring-powered system with extreme performance and thermal robustness, in parallel in both major groups of this largest family of salamanders. High performance and thermal robustness evolve together, indicating they are both properties of the same elastic-recoil, "bow-and-arrow" mechanism. Similar evolutionary patterns may be found in other ectothermic animals with extreme performance. >>

Stephen M. Deban, Jeffrey A. Scales, et al. Evolution of a high-performance and functionally robust musculoskeletal system in salamanders. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921807117. Apr 27, 2020.

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/21/1921807117

Bob Yirka. Minor evolutionary changes helped transform the salamander tongue into a fast elastic recoil mechanism. Apr 28, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-minor-evolutionary-salamander-tongue-fast.html

Also

keyword 'tiny' in FonT

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

# life: At this point ... are you a pseudo naked mole-rat? Well, it would be useful ...

<< African naked mole-rats are sometimes referred to as animal superheroes. They resist cancer, tolerate pain, and live a remarkably long time. They're also known for their ability to handle high levels of carbon dioxide and can go for several minutes without oxygen. >>

AA << may have found the mole-rats' kryptonite: they need high levels of carbon dioxide to function. (..) the mole-rats don't just tolerate high levels of carbon dioxide in their crowded nests; it appears that they actually require it. When they reach the hot surface and start heat-induced hyperventilation in the fresh air, it sends them into seizures. >>

AA << found that this curious need for carbon dioxide is explained by the presence of a missense mutation in a gene that encodes the major neuronal chloride transporter known as KCC2. >>

Similarly, families of people << with a genetic predisposition for febrile seizures carry the very same genetic change. >>

<< The identification of the genetic polymorphism in the naked mole-rat KCC2 was a surprise, (..) Aside from a small subset of humans, naked mole-rats are now the only other mammals known to harbor this variant. >> Martin Puskarjov.

Naked mole-rats need carbon dioxide to avoid seizures and here's why. Cell Press. Apr 30, 2020. 

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-naked-mole-rats-carbon-dioxide-seizures.html

Michael Zions, Edward F. Meehan, et al. Nest Carbon Dioxide Masks GABA-Dependent Seizure Susceptibility in the Naked Mole-Rat. Curr Biol. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.071. Apr 30, 2020.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30478-4

Also 

the 'naked mole-rats paradox'

Scientists explain why naked mole-rats' longevity contradicts accepted aging theory. Missouri University of Science and Technology. Feb 10, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-scientists-naked-mole-rats-longevity-contradicts.html

Wenyun Zuo, Xiaolong Tang, Chen Hou. Why Naked Mole-Rats Have High Oxidative Damage but Live a Long Life: A Simple Explanation Based on the Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging. 

Adv Geriatr Med Res. 2(1): e200006. doi: 10.20900/agmr20200006. Jan 7, 2020. 

https://agmr.hapres.com/htmls/AGMR_1164_Detail.html

Also

keyword 'naked' in FonT

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

# evol: traces of proto harpist players, 40k year old evidence that Neanderthal's wove strings (three bundles of twisted fibres).

AA << show direct evidence of fibre technology in the form of a 3-ply cord fragment made from inner bark fibres on a stone tool recovered in situ from the same site (Abri du Maras Paleolithic site). Twisted fibres provide the basis for clothing, rope, bags, nets, mats, boats, etc. which, once discovered, would have become an indispensable part of daily life. Understanding and use of twisted fibres implies the use of complex multi-component technology as well as a mathematical understanding of pairs, sets, and numbers. Added to recent evidence of birch bark tar, art, and shell beads, the idea that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior to modern humans is becoming increasingly untenable. >>

B. L. Hardy, M.-H. Moncel, et al. 

Direct evidence of Neanderthal fibre technology and its cognitive and behavioral implications.  Sci Rep 10, 4889. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-61839-w. Apr 9, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61839-w

40,000 year old evidence that Neanderthals wove string. CNRS. Apr 9, 2020.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200409110533.htm

FonT

non per essere frainteso sulla prima parte del titolo di questo post ('traces of proto harpist players'), ma quando approccio dissertazioni circa argomenti che trattano 'corde', per associazione (a senso unico) richiamo  in modo automatico, meccanico,  immagini relative alla musica (e al caos); ognuno ha i suoi limiti ...

Also

keyword 'Neanderthal' in FonT

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

# gst: how a virus could cause context-dependent manipulation in host social behavior

<< Honey bees that guard hive entrances are twice as likely to allow in trespassers from other hives if the intruders are infected with the Israeli acute paralysis virus, a deadly pathogen of bees, >>

<< It seems that the virus is changing how the bees smell, and perhaps the infected bees also are behaving in a way that is meant to appease the guards by engaging more in trophallaxis (a process by which honey bees exchange regurgitated food and other liquids), >> Adam Dolezal

Diana Yates. Virus-infected honey bees more likely to gain entrance to healthy hives. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. April 27, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-virus-infected-honey-bees-gain-entrance.html

Amy C. Geffre, Tim Gernat, et al. Honey bee virus causes context-dependent changes in host social behavior. PNAS  doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002268117. Apr 27, 2020.

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/21/2002268117

keyword 'trophallaxis' in Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Trophallaxis