# ai-bot: a campaign to stop killer bots (i.e. near-future ubiquitous lethal autonomous weapons - nfulaw)

<< In response to growing concerns about autonomous weapons, the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of AI researchers and advocacy organizations, has released a fictional video that depicts a disturbing future in which lethal autonomous weapons have become cheap and ubiquitous worldwide >>

Disturbing video depicts near-future ubiquitous lethal autonomous weapons. The technology described in the film already exists, says UC Berkeley AI researcher Stuart Russell. Nov 18, 2017

http://www.kurzweilai.net/disturbing-video-depicts-near-future-ubiquitous-lethal-autonomous-weapons

FonT

in effetti si puo' immaginare - senza sconfinare troppo nella fantascienza - una entita' "nfulaw"  nella forma funzionale del bot-mosquito, di pochi millimetri, armata di device a pungiglione e adatte nano-vescicola e nano-pompa - in grado di iniettare qualche sorta di micidiale molecola -  che traccia e individua il suo bersaglio tramite il riconoscimento facciale oppure attraverso il segnale dello smartphone ...

# behav: a new dead leaf camouflage strategy with orange spots and unexpected preserved resonance (T. spurioculis)

AA << study the wing mechanics and resonances of Typophyllum spurioculis, a new species of leaf-mimic katydid >>

<< This species performs an unusual laterally directed aposematic display, showing orange spots that simulate eyes at the leg base. At night, males are conspicuous by their loud, audible calling songs, which exhibit two spectral peaks at ca. 7 and 12 kHz >>

AA << find the effective sound radiators of the wings (speculae) vibrate with three modes of vibration, two of which include the frequencies observed in the calling song. Remarkably, this resonance is preserved in the parts of the wings mimicking necrotic leaves, which are in theory not specialised for sound production >>

Andrew Baker, Fernando Montealegre-Z, et al. Wing resonances in a new dead-leaf-mimic katydid (Tettigoniidae: Pterochrozinae) from the Andean cloud forests. Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology. 2017; 270: 60-70.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044523117300748

Cerri Evans. New insect species mimics dead leaves for camouflage
Nov 13, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-insect-species-mimics-dead-camouflage.html

# gst-chem: cascade reactions to generate complexity by triggering new chemical bonds from simple parent substances

<< organic chemists can synthesize substances of almost any complexity — vitamins, proteins, terpenes, etc. To do this, they often use cascade reactions, sequences of several chemical transformations in the course of which new chemical bonds are formed >>

<< cascade reactions are a powerful tool for rapidly increasing molecular complexity, that is, for obtaining complex compounds from simple parent substances >>

AA << have developed a new chemical reaction to synthesize a whole class of yet unexplored substances – diazabicyclo [3.2.1] octanes. These compounds are used in drug development >>

Scientists report a new cascade reaction. Nov 15, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-scientists-cascade-reaction.html

Dmitry V. Osipov, Irina V. Melnikova, et al. Synthesis of 8-substituted 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane derivatives via double aza-Michael addition of homopiperazine to 3-trifluoroacetyl-4H-chromenes.  Journal of Fluorine Chemistry. 2017; 202: 71-5.  doi: 10.1016/ j.jfluchem.2017.09.006  Sep 14, 2017.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022113917303676

# gst: levitation in a temperature gradient: the two liquids don't mix

<< A drop or two of cold cream in hot coffee can go a long way toward improving one's morning. But what if the two liquids didn't mix? >>

AA << have now explained why under certain conditions a droplet of liquid should not coalesce with the liquid surface below. If the droplet is very cold, and the bath sufficiently hot, then the droplet should "levitate" on the bath's surface, as a result of the flows induced by the temperature difference >>

<< If you study that process mathematically, you can show the way in which temperature is changing in the droplet over time is exactly with this power law of 2/3 that we observed in our experiments >> Michela Geri.

Jennifer Chu. Study explains how droplets can 'levitate' on liquid surfaces. Nov 15, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-droplets-levitate-liquid-surfaces.html

Michela Geri, Bavand Keshavarz, et al. Thermal delay of drop coalescence.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2017; 833  doi: 10.1017/jfm.2017.686  Nov 8, 2017.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-fluid-mechanics/article/thermal-delay-of-drop-coalescence/CB55985D6ADC2251BA5EA94C8021C18F#

# gst: inside self-organization; "swarmalators", when both synchronization and swarming occur together

<< Strogatz and O'Keeffe [Steven H. Strogatz and Kevin P. O’Keeffe], used the curious mating ritual of male Japanese tree frogs as inspiration for their exploration of "swarmalators" - their term for systems in which both synchronization and swarming occur together >>

Tom Fleischman. Mathematician's study of 'swarmalators' could direct future science. Nov 17, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-mathematician-swarmalators-future-science.html

<< Synchronization occurs in many natural and technological systems, from cardiac pacemaker cells to coupled lasers >>

<< A complementary form of self-organization occurs among swarming insects, flocking birds, or schooling fish >>

AA << explore systems in which both synchronization and swarming occur together. Specifically, [AA] consider oscillators whose phase dynamics and spatial dynamics are coupled >>

Kevin P. O’Keeffe, Hyunsuk Hong,  Steven H. Strogatz. Oscillators that sync and swarm.  Nature Comm 2017; 8 (1504).  doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-01190-3  Nov 15, 2017

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01190-3

FonT

<< Amico, qualunque  cosa suonerai . . . >>  Jelly Roll Morton. cit.: 2113 - soniche a ramulo. Jan 28, 2007

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2007/01/2113-soniche-ramulo.html

# acad: oops! sometimes scientific results are published which other researchers cannot reproduce ...

<< Ioannidis [John P. A. Ioannidis], an expert in statistics, medicine and health policy at Stanford University, has done more than anyone else to ring the alarm bells on science's quality control problems: scientific results are published which other researchers cannot reproduce >>

Andrea Saltelli. Opinion: Science's credibility crisis will get worse before it can get better. The Conversation. Nov 9, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-opinion-science-credibility-crisis-worse.html

https://theconversation.com/sciences-credibility-crisis-why-it-will-get-worse-before-it-can-get-better-86865

AA << investigate two critical dimensions of the credibility of empirical economics research: statistical power and bias >>

AA << survey 159 empirical economics literatures that draw upon 64,076 estimates of economic parameters reported in more than 6,700 empirical studies. Half of the research areas have nearly 90% of their results under-powered >>

<< nearly 80% of the reported effects in these empirical economics literatures are exaggerated; typically, by a factor of two and with one-third inflated by a factor of four or more >>

Ioannidis John PA, Stanley TD, Doucouliagos Hristos.  The Power of Bias in Economics Research. The Economic Journal. 2017; 127: F236–65 doi: 10.1111/ecoj.12461 Oct 24, 2017

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecoj.12461/full#

# acad: around p-hacking, when writing in a blog may be accidentally dangerous

<< Brian Wansink didn’t mean to spark an investigative fury that revisited his entire life's work >>

<< But his blog post accidentally highlighted some questionable research practices that caused a group of data detectives to jump on the case >>

the << practice of "p-hacking" — hunting for significant p-values in statistical analyses — is one of the many questionable research practices responsible for the replication crisis in the social sciences >>

<< people who work in fields that are kind of on the periphery of (..) have told me that most of their colleagues aren't even aware there's a problem yet >> Nicholas Brown

Cathleen O'Grady. "Mindless Eating,"or how to send an entire life of research into question. April 24, 2017

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/the-peer-reviewed-saga-of-mindless-eating-mindless-research-is-bad-too/