# acad: apropos of pulsating, nomadic entities; to generate and manage 'theories and vagrant thoughts', by Isaac

<< Presumably, the process of creativity, whatever it is, is essentially the same in all its branches and varieties, so that the evolution of a new art form, a new gadget, a new scientific principle, all involve common factors. We are most interested in the “creation” of a new scientific principle or a new application of an old one, but we can be general here. >>

Isaac Asimov Asks, "How Do People Get New Ideas?". A 1959 Essay by Isaac Asimov on Creativity. Oct 20, 2014.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/531911/isaac-asimov-asks-how-do-people-get-new-ideas/amp/

https://twitter.com/techreview/status/1147256914016964608

# phys: optical vortex to probe magnetism in matter

<< A light "corkscrew" is sensitive to the local magnetic field direction, so it can be used to probe magnetism in a material. >>

<< Circularly polarized light can act as a powerful probe of magnetism in matter. By measuring differences in the transmission of light beams polarized in different directions as they pass through a material, physicists can unravel atomic-level details of the material’s magnetic properties. >>

Synopsis: Optical Vortices Can Probe Magnetism. Jun 12, 2019.

https://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.237401

A. A. Sirenko, P. Marsik, et al. Terahertz Vortex Beam as a Spectroscopic Probe of Magnetic Excitations. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 237401. Jun 12, 2019.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.237401

# brain: short-term exercise enhances brain function

<< Exercise is cheap, and you don't necessarily need a fancy gym membership or have to run 10 miles a day, >> Gary Westbrook

AA << designed a study in mice that specifically measured the brain's response to single bouts of exercise in otherwise sedentary mice that were placed for short periods on running wheels. The mice ran a few kilometers in two hours. >>

<< short-term bursts of exercise- the human equivalent of a weekly game of pickup basketball, or 4,000 steps- promoted an increase in synapses in the hippocampus. Scientists made the key discovery by analyzing genes that were increased in single neurons activated during exercise. >>

<< One particular gene stood out: Mtss1L. This gene had been largely ignored in prior studies in the brain. >>

Study reveals a short bout of exercise enhances brain function. Oregon Health & Science University.  Jul 3, 2019.

https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-reveals-short-bout-brain-function.html   

AA << results link short-term effects of exercise to activity-dependent expression of Mtss1L, which propose as a novel effector of activity- dependent rearrangement of synapses. >>

Christina Chatzi, Yingyu Zhang, et al.  Exercise-induced enhancement of synaptic function triggered by the inverse BAR protein, Mtss1L.  eLife 2019; 8: e45920. doi: 10.7554/eLife.45920. Jun 24, 2019

https://elifesciences.org/articles/45920 

# cells: liver tissue as a 'liquid-crystal' structure

<< analysis of the spatial organization of cell polarity revealed that hepatocytes are not randomly oriented but follow a long-range liquid crystal order. >>

New modeling technique discovers surprising 'liquid-crystal' organization of liver tissue. Max Planck Society.  Jul 3, 2019.

https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-technique-liquid-crystal-liver-tissue.html   

Hernan Morales-Navarrete, Hidenori Nonaka, et al.  Liquid-crystal organization of liver tissue. eLife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44860. Jun 17, 2019.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/44860

# gst: when two like-charged spherical metal nanoparticles with unequal charges counterintuitively will attract one another.

<< When it comes to electric charge, there is one overriding theme: opposites attract, and like charges repel. But in a new study, physicists have made the surprising discovery that two spherical like-charged metal nanoparticles with unequal charges can attract one another in a dilute electrolyte solution. The reason, in short, is that the more strongly charged nanoparticle polarizes the metal core of the weakly charged nanoparticle, which alters the interaction between the nanoparticles. >>

<< Our paper elucidates a very counterintuitive behavior which was previously thought to be impossible, >>  Yan Levin.

Lisa Zyga. A counterintuitive case in which like charges attract. Phys.org. Jul 2, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-07-counterintuitive-case.html   

Alexandre P. dos Santos, Yan Levin. Like-Charge Attraction between Metal Nanoparticles in a 1∶ 1 Electrolyte Solution.  Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 248005. June 21, 2019.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.248005  

# gst: apropos of freezing bubbles ...

<< Droplets or puddles tend to freeze from the propagation of a single freeze front. In contrast, videographers have shown that as soap bubbles freeze, a plethora of growing ice crystals can swirl around in a beautiful effect visually reminiscent of a snow globe. >>

AA << characterize the physics of soap bubbles freezing on an icy substrate and reveal two distinct modes of freezing. The first mode, occurring for isothermally supercooled bubbles, generates a strong Marangoni flow that entrains ice crystals to produce the aforementioned snow globe effect. The second mode occurs when using a cold stage in a warm ambient, resulting in a bottom-up freeze front that eventually halts due to poor conduction along the bubble.  >>

S. Farzad Ahmadi, Saurabh Nath, et al. How soap bubbles freeze. Nature Communications. volume 10, Article number: 2531. Jun 18, 2019.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10021-6   

Rosaire Bushey. Freezing bubbles viral video inspired research now published. Virginia Tech. Jun 19, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-06-viral-video-published.html  

# brain: naturally-occurring psychedelic DMT, a 'magic string' endogenously synthesized

AA << results show for the first time that the rat brain is capable of synthesizing and releasing DMT [N,N-dimethyltryptamine] at concentrations comparable to known monoamine neurotransmitters and raise the possibility that this phenomenon may occur similarly in human brains. >>

Jon G. Dean, Tiecheng Liu, et al.  Biosynthesis and Extracellular Concentrations of N,N- dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Mammalian Brain. Scientific Reports. volume 9, Article number: 9333 (2019).  Jun 27, 2019.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45812-w

'Mystical' psychedelic compound found in normal brains. University of Michigan. Jun 27, 2019.

https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2019-06-mystical-psychedelic-compound-brains.html  

Also

'magic strings', in: FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=magic+strings