# gene: knockdown of a single gene, the generation of a third eye (in scarabaeid beetles)

<< The creation of three-eyed beetles through a new technique (..) provides scientists a new way to investigate the genetic mechanisms responsible for the evolutionary emergence of new physical traits >>

Kevin Fryling. Biologists create beetle with functional extra eye. Nov 13, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-biologists-beetle-functional-extra-eye.html

AA << report the ectopic induction of complex and functional organs, compound eyes, by down-regulation of a single transcription factor through RNAi, a technique known to work well across a broad taxonomic range >>

AA << results show that knockdown of a single gene is sufficient for the middorsal head to acquire the competence to ectopically generate a functional compound eye-like structure >>

Eduardo E. Zattara, Anna L. M. Macagno, et al. Development of functional ectopic compound eyes in scarabaeid beetles by knockdown of orthodenticle. PNAS. 2017; 114 (45): 12021–6

http://m.pnas.org/content/114/45/12021

# behav: apropos pulsatile interferences

<< Grooming interactions benefit groomers, but may have negative consequences for bystanders >>

AA << tested the impact of dominance rank and social relationships on grooming intervention likelihood and outcome in two sympatric primate species, Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys) >>

<< bystanders in both species appear to monitor grooming interactions and intervene based on their own dominance rank and social relationships, as well as triadic awareness of the relationship between groomers >>

Alexander Mielke, Liran Samuni, et al. Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys. Royal Society Open Science. doi: 10.1098/rsos.171296  Nov 8, 2017

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/11/171296

Chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys interfere with other group members' relationships. Nov 8, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-chimpanzees-sooty-mangabeys-group-members.html

# lang: hierarchical temporal structures in speech, song and music

<< Jazz musicians riffing with each other, humans talking to each other and pods of killer whales all have interactive conversations that are remarkably similar to each other, new research reveals >>

Human speech, jazz and whale song. Oct 13, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-human-speech-jazz-whale-song.html

AA << developed a new method to measure and compare hierarchical temporal structures in speech, song and music >>

Christopher T. Kello, Simone Dalla Bella, et al. Hierarchical temporal structure in music, speech and animal vocalizations: jazz is like a conversation, humpbacks sing like hermit thrushes. J Royal Soc Interface. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0231 Oct 11, 2017

http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/14/135/20170231

# gst: more on turbulence under rotation, by Biferale, Bonaccorso, Lanotte, et al.

AA << study turbulence under rotation in the presence of simultaneous direct and inverse cascades >>

AA << quantify (..) the effects of those coherent vertical structures on the preferential concentration of light and heavy particles >>

<< Rotating, turbulent flows are ubiquitous in nature >>

Biferale L, Bonaccorso F,  Lanotte AS, et al.  Coherent Structures and Extreme Events in Rotating Multiphase Turbulent Flows. Phys. Rev. X 6, 041036 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041036  Nov 21, 2016

https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041036

<< What can you find in the air, on an aeroplane, or even deep inside your heart? No, the answer isn’t love. It is, of course, turbulent flow >>

In a spin: studying turbulent flow under rotation. Nov 5, 2017

http://www.prace-ri.eu/spin-studying-turbulent-flow-rotation/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171106100301.htm

# gst: a striking analogy between solid–solid and solid–drop frictions

AA << report that the lateral adhesion force between a liquid drop and a solid can also be divided into a static and a kinetic regime. This striking analogy with solid–solid friction is a generic phenomenon that holds for liquids of different polarities and surface tensions on smooth, rough and structured surfaces >>

Nan Gao, Florian Geyer, et al. How drops start sliding over solid surfaces. Nature Physics doi: 10.1038/nphys4305 Nov 6, 2017

https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys4305

AA << acknowledges that their experiments are just the beginning in trying to fully understand the nature of friction between drops and solid objects >>

Bob Yirka. Droplet friction found to be similar to that of solid objects. Nov 8, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-droplet-friction-similar-solid.html

# soc: particularly intriguing two over 125 issues regarding The World Economic Forum's Transformation Maps: "Mental Health" & "Corruption"

<< The Forum opened access to its Transformation Maps, a digital tool used by leaders for framing knowledge around 125 issues, industries and economies as well as their sometimes-hidden connections >>

Oliver Cann. Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils Ends with Pledge to Put People at the Heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Dubai, United Arab Emirates,  Nov 12, 2017

https://www.weforum.org/press/2017/11/annual-meeting-of-the-global-future-councils-ends-with-pledge-to-put-people-at-the-centre-of-the-fourth-industrial-revolution

<< The World Economic Forum's Transformation Maps - a constantly refreshed repository of knowledge about global issues, from climate change to the future of work - are now publicly available for the first time and free of charge. But what are they? And what can we do with them? >>

James Landale. What is a Transformation Map? Nov 8, 2017

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/what-is-a-transformation-map

<< Transformation Maps
Harnessing the Forum's Collective Intelligence. A dynamic knowledge tool to understand the issues and forces driving transformational change across economies, industries, global issues and the Forum's system initiatives >>

https://toplink.weforum.org/knowledge/explore

# brain: your brain needs to process quickly whether the sound is coming from, say, a bear or a chipmunk ...

<< When you are out in the woods and hear a cracking sound, your brain needs to process quickly whether the sound is coming from, say, a bear or a chipmunk >>

AA << has a new interpretation for an old observation, debunking an established theory in the process >>

Beth Miller. Bear or chipmunk? WashU Engineer finds how brain encodes sounds. Nov 7, 2017.

https://engineering.wustl.edu/news/Pages/Bear-or-chipmunk-WashU-Engineer-finds-how-brain-encodes-sounds.aspx

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171108151851.htm

AA found that << Dense and sparse coding may (..) work together dynamically in order to represent complex, temporally overlapping sensory content >>

Wensheng Sun, Dennis L. Barbour. Rate, not selectivity, determines neuronal population coding accuracy in auditory cortex. PLoS Biol 15(11): e2002459. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2002459 Nov 1, 2017.

http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2002459