Misc. Science Topics

[racecar]

Your feet are Long-fellows.

Chimp + Finch = Human

cognitive mechanisms plus genes equals toes...

[austintorn@aol.com]

You one-upped me, racecar, I've run out of poets.

Dang, darn, and damn.

[austintorn@aol.com]

— The Universe is Trying To Tell Us Something —

So, we will have to interpret it,
Seeking the final story.

While well-formed,
No one thought
That the Standard Model
Was the final word.

For one thing,
It doesn’t include gravity,
And so it is incomplete,
As well as having
Varied symmetries,
Some working
And some broken.


Vacuum Energy

Vacuum energy is
The energy density
Of “empty” space,
And, by Einstein,
Is inherent in
The fabric of space itself,
Imparting a persistent impulse
To the expansion of the universe;
Whereas, ordinary matter
And radiation disperse.

Yet, the estimation
Of this cosmological constant
Is off by 10**120.

What is the universe telling us?

Well, for one thing,
If the constant really was larger,
We wouldn’t be here.

Do we live in an unusual part
Of the universe?

Well, who knows, but,
What about the Big Bang?


The History of the Universe

We are talking here about
The Big Bang model,
Which is not about the Big Bang itself,
But about the afterwards.

While the Big Bang is
But a placeholder for our ignorance,
The afterwards Big Bang model
Is on firm empirical ground.

There are still some questions:

Why did the early universe
Look like it did—
Hotter, denser, and smoother?

And in the future the universe
Will have gone from the primordial soup
To but a thin gruel of particles
Growing even colder
And more distant from one another.

Thus, the past was
Very different from the future.

The arrow of time moves forward.

Higher entropy configurations
Are more natural than lower ones,
For there are a lot more
Of those configurations to be found.

However, if entropy had always
Been very high. or maximal,
There would have been no life.

We have a medium entropy.

Why did matter collect
Into galaxies rather
Than spread uniformly
And thinly throughout space?


The Prehistory of the Universe

What! Huh, how can this be here!

Well, we will try to peer beyond the veil.

Imagine a previous, dispersed universe;
However, even empty space
Is not perfectly quiescent,
For there is still vacuum energy—
The irreducible fluctuations
In the “vacuum”.

Here, particles pop into
And out of existence,
And the fields occasionally
Arrange themselves
In statistically unlikely configurations.

If we wait long enough,
The right kind of configuration will arise,
Giving rise to an entirely new universe,
As it pinches off a small region
And creates a disconnected bubble
Of distorted space.

It had to be a small region because
It was easier to create a new bubble universe
In such a configuration than it is
To make a large, dilute universe from scratch.

This may be what the universe
Is trying to tell us.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Dark Energy

It’s the only “stuff”
That acts both on
The subatomic scales
And across the largest
Distances in the cosmos.

Its aliases are
The cosmological constant
And the vacuum energy.

GR tells us that space and time
Do not together create a fixed, empty stage
Where matter and energy can dance about,
But, rather, that space-time itself
Bends in reaction to matter.

By Einstein, mass can arise
Either by acceleration
Or gravitational expansion.

Mass and gravitational force
Are both manifestations
Of the bending of space.

All states of motion are relative,
Including rest,
But what is absolute is
That space-time can be bent
In the presence of matter or energy.

Gravity operates without
The need for a background space;
Rather, it defines background space.

In contrast, the electromagnetic force
Requires space in which to extend.

The gravitational field
Is itself the background space-time.

At large distance scales,
The e/m force and
The weak and the strong forces
Are irrelevant compared
With the gravitational force.

Dark Energy, an omnipresent,
Evenly distributed, repellant substance—
Acts on gravity to make
The very fabric of space accelerate.

It has negative pressure
And positive energy.

Fields carry the four
Fundamental forces of nature.

Fields can be particles,
But particles return to the parent field.

Since the vacuum state
Is the lowest-energy state possible,
A particle cannot spontaneously
Be created unless its antiparticle
Is also created.

This bubbling of matter and antimatter
Generates an electric force
Called the Casmir effect.

The properties of the vacuum energy
Are none other than
The quantum manifestations
Of Dark Energy,
Which acts on gravity
To create more and more
Space at an ever increasing rate

Or, is gravity insensitive?

Are particles indivisible?

If we think so,
Then we maintain
The intrinsic divide
Between matter and space-time,
So, we might try to see
The vacuum as relative
And not as an absolute entity.

Perhaps what are thought
To be fundamental particles
Are the equivalent
Of a quantum emergence
Of the fabric of space itself,
Being just as relative as motion.

Dark energy would then be
An artifact of the emergence
Of space-time
Over larger distances.

[racecar]

You one-upped me, racecar, I've run out of poets.

Dang, darn, and damn.

Thanks for humoring me, Austin! I have one more, she's a real humdinger.

Mother Nature's hummer to all long-fellows ~

"We must also look for answers to human behaviour in
our brain and its epigenetic structuring: the interaction
of genes with the intrinsic development coordinated by
the learning and experience particular to each individual.
The combination of information from diverse fields is
both our biggest challenge and our only hope in terms
of understanding how the brain works, and what makes
each brain different."

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Mismatch Theory and behaviour.... thanks for the pointers.

[austintorn@aol.com]

A 100 billion neurons exist in the brain, each connecting to about 1000 others, granting a lot of processing power.

We even deal with the animate (other minds) differently than the inanimate, leading some to think that there is even a dualism between our own minds and bodies, but this has never been shown.

Even identical twins develop different memories and directions, showing that everyone is quite unique in the history of the universe.

Next time, we’ll see the scientific basis for the different outlooks of East vs. West.

Carry on hum-dinging, Ms. Humper-dink.

[austintorn@aol.com]

East Vs. West Outlook Explained

Eastern ways have it
That interdependence is to be sought
As a frame for seeing the world
And one’s place in it,
While in the West
An independent frame is stressed.

In essence, Eastern Asians
Are raised to believe
That we are all connected
And that the needs of the group
Outweigh the needs of the individual.

In contrast, people from Western Europe
And North America are taught
To prioritize their own goals,
Feelings, and achievements.

In Eastern cultures
“The nail that stands out
Gets hammered down”,
While in Western cultures
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

These opposite ideas
Have endured for over a millennium.

Their brain organizations must differ
And so we will see that it does, and why.

There are three different forms
Of the serotonin transporter gene
(5-HTTLPR),
Based on the combination
Of two alleles,
Called short-short,
Long-short, and long-long.

While two-thirds of East Asians
Have short-short,
Only one-fifth of the West has it.

This gene in particular
Is related to socioemotional sensitivity.

Those with the short-short variant
Have been shown to be at risk for depression,
But only if they lacked social support,
While the short-long and the long-long
Variants remain unaffected
By the lack of social support.

The short-short neurochemistry
Would then predispose the East
To establish interdependence
As a cultural value,
One that makes everyone’s
Well-being a priority.

As reflected in the East’s
Way of life (kind of a religion),
Their culture solidified in the form
Of neo-Confusianism,
Which combined the Buddhist beliefs
That we see are all connected
And that selfish attachments are unhealthy.

Western culture emerged out of
The combination of Judeo-Christian theology,
Which posits a single God
Who holds individuals responsible
For their own eternal salvation,
Plus, from Greek civics,
Which emphasized personal agency
And free will.

Both of these Big Ideas
Migrated until they found
The population with the
Right neurochemistry
To make them stick,
Although some countries,
Like India, remain half-half.

So, while it’s true that people
Must go with their brain orientation,
It helps to be informed
Of the whys, such that one
Will able to see both sides,
And to see that we are predisposed
To find some ideas more appealing.

Science ever finds things out
That can’t be found by introspection alone.

[austintorn@aol.com]

The Aliens Are Here
(The Viruses)

You feel that you are not alone;
They are all around.

The near-invisible life forms
Of viruses swarm all around you.

The alien has integrated itself
Into the very fabric of life
That surrounds you.

There is no escape.
It has invaded and won!

Viruses are nanocreatures
That have penetrated
Forms of life on our planet
With startling efficiency.

They are merely genetic material
In a protein coat.

The dominant forms of life on our planet,
When measured in biomass and diversity,
Are microscopic.

There are 250 million virus particles
Infecting bacteria in every milliliter
Of unpolluted natural water ecosystems.

The existing equilibrium of our planet
Is dependent on the actions of the viral world.

20-40 percent of bacteria
In our marine systems
Are killed by viruses each day,
Which provides a tremendous source
Of organic matter, releasing amino acids,
Carbon, and nitrogen, recycling nutrients.

They also prevent any one
Bacterial species from dominating.

Because of their high mutation rates
And their ability to exchange
Genetic information with one another,
Viruses are tremendous generators
Of genetic variation.

The introduction of a retrovirus
Into our ape ancestors
Led to a new mammalian gene
That play an important role in our placenta.

The use of unadulterated vaccinia virus,
A variant of the cowpox virus,
Allowed humans to wipe smallpox,
Perhaps the worst scourge humanity
Has ever face, off the face of the Earth.

Like aliens, viruses are usually portrayed
As either perfectly benign
Or perfectly evil.

They are the ETs.



Viral Evolution

Is a subfield
Of evolutionary biology
That is specifically concerned
With the evolution of viruses.

Many viruses, in particular RNA viruses,
Have short generation times
And relatively high mutation rates
(On the order of one point mutation
Or more per genome
Per round of replication for RNA viruses).

This elevated mutation rate,
When combined with natural selection,
Allows viruses to quickly adapt
To changes in their host environment.

Viral evolution is an important aspect
Of the epidemiology of viral diseases
Such as influenza (influenza virus),
AIDS (HIV), and hepatitis (e.g. HCV).

It also causes problems
In the development
Of successful vaccines
And antiviral drugs,
As resistant mutations often appear
Within weeks or months
After the beginning of the treatment.

RNA viruses are also used as a model system
To study evolution in the laboratory.

One of the main theoretical models
To study viral evolution
Is the quasispecies model,
As the viral quasispecies.

[austintorn@aol.com]

What collapses the wave function?

Penrose believes he has
Identified the secret
That keeps the quantum genie
Bottled up in the atomic world,
A secret that was
Right in front of us all along.

I guess no one cares about this.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Free will is an illusion, biologist says

March 3, 2010 By Lisa Zyga

Three different models explain the causal mechanism of free will and the flow of information between unconscious neural activity and conscious thought (GES = genes, environment, stochasticism). In A, the intuitive model, there is no causal component for will. Will influences conscious thought, which in turn influences unconscious neural activity to direct behavior. In B, a causal component of will is introduced: unconscious neural activity and GES. But now will loses its “freedom.” In C, the model that Cashmore advocates, will is dispensed with. Conscious thought is simply a reflection of, rather than an influence on, unconscious neural activity, which directs behavior. The dotted arrow 2 in C indicates a subservient role of conscious thought in directing behavior. Credit: Anthony Cashmore.

(PhysOrg.com) -- When biologist Anthony Cashmore claims that the concept of free will is an illusion, he's not breaking any new ground. At least as far back as the ancient Greeks, people have wondered how humans seem to have the ability to make their own personal decisions in a manner lacking any causal component other than their desire to "will" something. But Cashmore, Professor of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, says that many biologists today still cling to the idea of free will, and reject the idea that we are simply conscious machines, completely controlled by a combination of our chemistry and external environmental forces.

In a recent study, Cashmore has argued that a belief in free will is akin to religious beliefs, since neither complies with the laws of the physical world. One of the basic premises of biology and biochemistry is that biological systems are nothing more than a bag of chemicals that obey chemical and physical laws. Generally, we have no problem with the “bag of chemicals” notion when it comes to bacteria, plants, and similar entities. So why is it so difficult to say the same about humans or other “higher level” species, when we’re all governed by the same laws?

No causal mechanism

As Cashmore explains, the human brain acts at both the conscious level as well as the unconscious. It’s our consciousness that makes us aware of our actions, giving us the sense that we control them, as well. But even without this awareness, our brains can still induce our bodies to act, and studies have indicated that consciousness is something that follows unconscious neural activity. Just because we are often aware of multiple paths to take, that doesn’t mean we actually get to choose one of them based on our own free will. As the ancient Greeks asked, by what mechanism would we be choosing? The physical world is made of causes and effects - “nothing comes from nothing” - but free will, by its very definition, has no physical cause. The Roman philosopher and poet Lucretius, in reference to this problem of free will, noted that the Greek philosophers concluded that atoms "randomly swerve" - the likely source of this movement being the numerous Greek gods.

Today, as researchers gain a better understanding of the molecular details underlying consciousness, some people think that we may discover a molecular mechanism responsible for free will - but Cashmore doesn’t think so. Such a discovery, he says, would require a new physical law that breaks the causal laws of nature. As it is, the only “wild card” that allows any room for maneuvering outside of genetics and one’s environment is the inherent uncertainty of the physical properties of matter, and even this stochastic element is beyond our conscious control. (However, it can help explain why identical twins growing up in the same environment are unique individuals.)

To put it simply, free will just doesn’t fit with how the physical world works. Cashmore compares a belief in free will to an earlier belief in vitalism - the belief that there are forces governing the biological world that are distinct from those governing the physical world. Vitalism was discarded more than 100 years ago, being replaced with evidence that biological systems obey the laws of chemistry and physics, not special biological laws for living things.

“I would like to convince biologists that a belief in free will is nothing other than a continuing belief in vitalism (or, as I say, a belief in magic),” Cashmore told PhysOrg.com.

Conscious Deception

It all seems quite rational, so why is our lack of free will so difficult to accept for many people? Cashmore explains that there are several compelling reasons that people have for believing in free will, not the least of which is that we have a constant awareness of making decisions that seem to be driven by our own volition. In addition, free will is a very useful concept when it comes to the justice system; we take responsibility for our criminal actions and accordingly, are eligible for personal punishment, which is deemed to be necessary for protecting society.

However, Cashmore argues that there are deeper explanations for why we think we have free will. He thinks that there must be a genetic basis for consciousness and the associated belief in free will. Consciousness has an evolutionary selective advantage: it provides us with the illusion of responsibility, which is beneficial for society, if not for individuals as well. In this sense, consciousness is our “preview function” that comforts us into thinking that we are in control of what we will (or at least may) do ahead of time. As Cashmore notes, the irony is that the very existence of these "free will genes" is predicated on their ability to con us into believing in free will and responsibility. However, in reality, all behavioral decisions are nothing more than a reflection of our genetic and environmental history.

“Whereas the impressions are that we are making ‘free’ conscious decisions, the reality is that consciousness is simply a state of awareness that reflects the input signals, and these are an unavoidable consequence of GES [genes, environment, and stochasticism],” Cashmore explained.

“Few neurobiologists would argue with the notion that consciousness influences behavior by acting through unconscious neural activity,” he said. “More controversial is the notion that consciousness plays a relatively minor role in governing our behavior. The conscious mind is conceivably more a mechanism of following unconscious neural activity than it is one of directing such activity. I find it interesting to compare this line of thinking with that of Freud, who created a controversy by suggesting that the unconscious mind played a role in our behavior. The way of thinking regarding these matters now has moved to the extent that some are questioning what role, if any, the conscious mind plays in directing behavior. Namely, Freud was right to an extent that was much greater than he realized.”

To summarize, Cashmore’s argument is that free will is an illusion derived from consciousness, but consciousness has an evolutionary advantage of conferring the illusion of responsibility. So what is the point of publicizing the fact that we have no free will, and letting everyone off the hook of individual responsibility? Cashmore says that, as researchers deepen their understanding of the molecular basis of human behavior, it will become increasingly difficult to entertain the fallacy of free will.

con't