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sabato 24 aprile 2021

# gst: increase transport with disorder

<< Overcoming the detrimental effect of disorder at the nanoscale is very hard since disorder induces localization and an exponential suppression of transport efficiency. (AA) unveil novel and robust quantum transport regimes achievable in nanosystems by exploiting long-range hopping. (They) demonstrate that in a 1D disordered nanostructure in the presence of long-range hopping, transport efficiency, after decreasing exponentially with disorder at first, is then enhanced by disorder  [disorder-enhanced transport regime] until, counterintuitively, it reaches a disorder-independent transport regime, persisting over several orders of disorder magnitude in realistic systems. >>️

Nahum C. Chávez, Francesco Mattiotti, et al. Disorder-Enhanced and Disorder-Independent Transport with Long-Range Hopping: Application to Molecular Chains in Optical Cavities. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 153201. Apr 12,  2021.


Horacio M. Pastawski. Driving Transport with High Disorder. Physics 14, 57. Apr 12, 2021. 



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






giovedì 22 aprile 2021

# life: cascading effects of noise on plants

<< Though noise may change moment by moment for humans, it has a more lasting effect on trees and plants. (..) human noise pollution affects the diversity of plant life in an ecosystem even after the noise has been removed. This is the first study that explores the long-term effects of noise on plant communities. >>
Cascading effects of noise on plants persist over long periods and after noise is removed. California Polytechnic State University. Apr 13, 2021. 


AA << found support for long-term negative effects of noise on tree seedling recruitment, evenness of woody plants and increasingly dissimilar vegetation communities with differences in noise levels. Furthermore, seedling recruitment and plant community composition did not recover following noise removal, possibly due in part to a lag in recovery among animals that disperse and pollinate plants. (They) results add to the limited evidence that noise has cascading ecological effects. Moreover, these effects may be long lasting and noise removal may not lead to immediate recovery. >>
Jennifer N. Phillips, Sarah E. Termondt, Clinton D. Francis.  Long-term noise pollution affects seedling recruitment and community composition, with negative effects persisting after removal. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/ rspb.2020.2906. Apr 14, 2021.


Also

keyword 'noise' in FonT






domenica 18 aprile 2021

# life: what to think of playing at the first gig

<< When McLaughlin (John McLaughlin) asked keyboard player Chick Corea what Miles (Miles Davis) was thinking of playing at their first gig, Corea just looked at him and said: "I don’t know. Just be ready, that’s all." >>

Mick Wall. The story of Mahavishnu Orchestra: Devotional, dizzying, and downright revolutionary. Mar 30, 2021.  



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keywords '@flashontrack' & 'jazz' in Twitter


keyword 'jazz' in FonT


keyword 'jazz' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry):









sabato 17 aprile 2021

# life: apropos of '1or2achoos' (from Wuhan), 'Shame on us', by Jay.

<< The year 2003 was an ominous one for emerging infectious diseases. A pair of deadly influenza strains had leapt from birds to humans in Hong Kong and the Netherlands. And a new coronavirus was spreading around the world causing a mysterious illness that became known as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Many experts feared they were watching the start of a global pandemic. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario never materialized. But it was a close-enough call for Robert Webster, a leading authority on avian influenza, to start urging scientists and policymakers to prepare for the next outbreak. One of his top recommendations: develop and stockpile drugs that target a wide range of viral pathogens. Drug researchers did not heed his call. After the SARS threat subsided, interest evaporated — and the world paid the price. “The scientific community really should have developed universal antivirals against SARS,” says Webster, now an emeritus member of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. “Then we would have had something in the stockpile for the emergence of COVID,” which is a caused by SARS-CoV-2, a close relative of the virus responsible for SARS. Another warning shot came in 2012, when Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) — caused by another relative of SARS-CoV-2 — started spreading through a handful of countries. Still, the drug shelves remained largely bare — a fact that Jay Bradner, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, regards as “regrettable”. >>️

<< Shame on us, (..) We can be better prepared. >> Jay Bradner.️

<< We need an arsenal, >> Kara Carter.

<< It’s hard to convince a company to make a drug against something that doesn’t exist. >>️  Timothy Sheahan.

<< There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, (..) We don’t want to have another year like 2020, (..) and we don’t have to, if we do the work in advance. >> Nat Moorman.️
Elie Dolgin. The race for antiviral drugs to beat COVID — and the next pandemic. Despite dire warnings, a stockpile of ready compounds to fight viral pandemics was sorely lacking. Can drugmakers finally do the right thing? Nature 592, 340-343. doi: 10.1038/ d41586-021-00958-4. Apr 14, 2021. 


Also

keyword 'virus' | 'sars-cov-2' in FonT



keyword 'virus' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry):


apropos of "herd immunity" ... , FonT,  Mar 16, 2020.





venerdì 16 aprile 2021

# life: non-human jazz from vibrant cobweb strings performed by a harp-like instrument

<< The spider lives in an environment of vibrating strings, (..) They don't see very well, so they sense their world through vibrations, which have different frequencies. (..) Such vibrations occur, for example, when the spider stretches a silk strand during construction, or when the wind or a trapped fly moves the web. (..) Webs could be a new source for musical inspiration that is very different from the usual human experience, >>️ Markus Buehler️

AA << scanned a natural spider web with a laser to capture 2D cross-sections and then used computer algorithms to reconstruct the web's 3D network. The team assigned different frequencies of sound to strands of the web, creating "notes" that they combined in patterns based on the web's 3D structure to generate melodies. The researchers then created a harp-like instrument and played the spider web music in several live performances around the world. >>️

Making music from spider webs. ACS - Am Chem Soc. Apr 12, 2021


Isabelle Su, Zhao Qin, et al. Imaging and analysis of a three-dimensional spider web architecture. J R Soc Interface. 15(146): 20180193. doi: 10.1098/ rsif.2018.0193. Sep 19, 2018. 








giovedì 15 aprile 2021

# phys: apropos of transitions, even a tiny wobble may reshape theoretical views of the universe

<< The long-awaited first results from the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory show fundamental particles called muons behaving in a way that is not predicted by scientists’ best theory, the Standard Model of particle physics. >>️

<< Like electrons, muons act as if they have a tiny internal magnet. In a strong magnetic field, the direction of the muon’s magnet precesses, or wobbles, much like the axis of a spinning top or gyroscope. The strength of the internal magnet determines the rate that the muon precesses in an external magnetic field and is described by a number that physicists call the g-factor. This number can be calculated with ultra-high precision. >>

<< The first result from the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab confirms the result from the experiment performed at Brookhaven National Lab two decades ago. Together, the two results show strong evidence that muons diverge from the Standard Model prediction. >>

<< The accepted theoretical values for the muon are:
g-factor: 2.00233183620(86)
anomalous magnetic moment: 0.00116591810(43)
[uncertainty in parentheses]

The new experimental world-average results announced by the Muon g-2 collaboration today are:
g-factor: 2.00233184122(82)
anomalous magnetic moment: 0.00116592061(41)

The combined results from Fermilab and Brookhaven show a difference with theory at a significance of 4.2 sigma, a little shy of the 5 sigma (or standard deviations) that scientists require to claim a discovery but still compelling evidence of new physics. The chance that the results are a statistical fluctuation is about 1 in 40,000. >>️

We’re thrilled to announce that the first results from Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment strengthen evidence of new physics! #gminus2
https://t.co/tUx4ojzIps https://t.co/t1ufui2Mwu   
17:01  Apr 7,  2021


Tracy Marc. First results from Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment strengthen evidence of new physics. Apr 7, 2021.


Also

Themis Bowcock, Mark Lancaster. How we found hints of new particles or forces of nature – and why it could change physics. Apr 8, 2021.
 

B. Abi et al. (Muon g−2  Collaboration)
 Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.46 ppm. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 141801. Apr 7, 2021.


A primer in particle physics:

Jonathan Carroll. Explainer: Standard Model of Particle Physics. Aug 25, 2011.








venerdì 9 aprile 2021

# gst: this arrangement may not be completely random; you might observe ordered structures (also) into amorphous (metallic glasses) solids

<< Glass, rubber and plastics all belong to a class of matter called amorphous solids. And in spite of how common they are in our everyday lives, amorphous solids have long posed a challenge to scientists. >>

A study << reports on the first-ever determination of the 3D atomic structure of an amorphous solid—in this case, a material called metallic glass. >>️
<< Because amorphous solids have been so difficult to characterize, the researchers expected the atoms to be arranged chaotically. And although about 85% of the atoms were in a disordered arrangement, the researchers were able to identify pockets where a fraction of atoms coalesced into ordered superclusters. The finding demonstrated that even within an amorphous solid, the arrangement of atoms is not completely random. >>️

Wayne Lewis. Century-old problem solved with first-ever 3D atomic imaging of an amorphous solid. University of California, Los Angeles. Mar 31, 2021.


Yang Y., Zhou J., et al. Determining the three-dimensional atomic structure of an amorphous solid. Nature 592, 60–64.  doi: 10.1038/  s41586-021-03354-0. Mar 31, 2021.