A low‐noise high‐speed diode laser current controller

We describe a new diode laser current controller which features low current noise, excellent dc stability, and the capacity for high‐speed modulation. While it is simple and inexpensive to construct, the controller compares favorably with the best presently available commercial diode laser current controllers

The making of eusociality: insights from two bumblebee genomes.

The genomes of two bumblebee species characterized by a lower level of sociality than ants and honeybees provide new insights into the origin and evolution of insect societies

Stability of Magneto-optical Traps with Large Field Gradients: Limits on the Tight Confinement of Single Atoms

We report measurements of the stability of magneto-optical traps (MOTs) for neutral atoms in the limit of tight confinement of a single atom. For quadrupole magnetic field gradients at the trap center greater than ∼1 kG/cm, we find that stochastic diffusion of atoms out of the trapping volume becomes the dominant particle loss mechanism, ultimately limiting the MOT size to greater than ∼5 μm. We measured and modeled the diffusive loss rate as a function of laser power, detuning, and field gradient for trapped cesium atoms. In addition, for as few as two atoms, the collisional loss rates become very high for tightly confined traps, allowing the direct observation of isolated two-body atomic collisions in a MOT

Supergenes and complex phenotypes.

Understanding the molecular underpinnings of evolutionary adaptations is a central focus of modern evolutionary biology. Recent studies have uncovered a panoply of complex phenotypes, including locally adapted ecotypes and cryptic morphs, divergent social behaviours in birds and insects, as well as alternative metabolic pathways in plants and fungi, that are regulated by clusters of tightly linked loci. These 'supergenes' segregate as stable polymorphisms within or between natural populations and influence ecologically relevant traits. Some supergenes may span entire chromosomes, because selection for reduced recombination between a supergene and a nearby locus providing additional benefits can lead to locus expansions with dynamics similar to those known for sex chromosomes. In addition to allowing for the co-segregation of adaptive variation within species, supergenes may facilitate the spread of complex phenotypes across species boundaries. Application of new genomic methods is likely to lead to the discovery of many additional supergenes in a broad range of organisms and reveal similar genetic architectures for convergently evolved phenotypes

Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species.

Reproductive division of labor and the coexistence of distinct castes are hallmarks of insect societies. In social insect species with multiple queens per colony, the fitness of nestmate queens directly depends on the process of caste allocation (i.e., the relative investment in queen, sterile worker and male production). The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic components to the process of caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species. We conducted controlled crosses in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile and established single-queen colonies to identify maternal and paternal family effects on the relative production of new queens, workers, and males. There were significant effects of parental genetic backgrounds on various aspects of caste allocation: the paternal lineage affected the proportion of queens and workers produced whereas the proportions of queens and males, and females and males were influenced by the interaction between parental lineages. In addition to revealing nonadditive genetic effects on female caste determination in a multiple-queen ant species, this study reveals strong genetic compatibility effects between parental genomes on caste allocation components

A search for acoustic amplitude deficit at the antipodes of sunspots

We present a search for the acoustic oscillation deficit which may exist at the antipodes of sunspots. Dopplergrams from Big Bear Solar Observatory 1988 helioseismology data were selected for five days on which large sunspots were known to be on the unseen hemisphere of the Sun. Acoustic oscillation amplitudes in the antipodal regions of these sunspots were compared with amplitudes in surrounding quiet-Sun regions. We did not detect a statistically significant acoustic amplitude deficit in our data. Our results indicate that the amplitude deficit at the sunspot antipodal points is limited to no more than 3% of the acoustic amplitude in the region, for solar oscillation modes of spherical harmonic degree l ≲ 200. We conclude that no strong acoustic deficit exists at the antipodes of sunspots. A more sensitive search, requiring more elaborate observations than we have performed, would be desirable in order to determine if a weak acoustic amplitude deficit exists at some level at the antipodes of sunspots, perhaps at higher spatial frequencies of oscillation. The noise level in any signals detected by such observations would probably limit their usefulness as seismic probes. However, information on the lifetimes of solar oscillation modes can be deduced even if no acoustic amplitude deficit is detected

A search for acoustic amplitude deficit at the antipodes of sunspots

We present a search for the acoustic oscillation deficit which may exist at the antipodes of sunspots. Dopplergrams from Big Bear Solar Observatory 1988 helioseismology data were selected for five days on which large sunspots were known to be on the unseen hemisphere of the Sun. Acoustic oscillation amplitudes in the antipodal regions of these sunspots were compared with amplitudes in surrounding quiet-Sun regions. We did not detect a statistically significant acoustic amplitude deficit in our data. Our results indicate that the amplitude deficit at the sunspot antipodal points is limited to no more than 3% of the acoustic amplitude in the region, for solar oscillation modes of spherical harmonic degree l ≲ 200. We conclude that no strong acoustic deficit exists at the antipodes of sunspots. A more sensitive search, requiring more elaborate observations than we have performed, would be desirable in order to determine if a weak acoustic amplitude deficit exists at some level at the antipodes of sunspots, perhaps at higher spatial frequencies of oscillation. The noise level in any signals detected by such observations would probably limit their usefulness as seismic probes. However, information on the lifetimes of solar oscillation modes can be deduced even if no acoustic amplitude deficit is detected

Generation of an intense cold-atom beam from a pyramidal magneto-optical trap: experiment and simulation

An intense cold-atom beam source based on a modified pyramidal magneto-optical trap has been developed and characterized. We have produced a slow beam of cold cesium atoms with a continuous flux of 2.2× 10^9 atoms/s at a mean velocity of 15 m/s and with a divergence of 15 mrad. The corresponding radiant intensity is 1.2×10^13 atom s^−1 sr^−1. We have characterized the performance of our beam source over a range of operating conditions, and the measured values for atom flux, mean velocity, and divergence are in good agreement with results from detailed Monte Carlo numerical simulations

Robust DNA Methylation in the Clonal Raider Ant Brain.

Social insects are promising model systems for epigenetics due to their immense morphological and behavioral plasticity. Reports that DNA methylation differs between the queen and worker castes in social insects [1-4] have implied a role for DNA methylation in regulating division of labor. To better understand the function of DNA methylation in social insects, we performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on brains of the clonal raider ant Cerapachys biroi, whose colonies alternate between reproductive (queen-like) and brood care (worker-like) phases [5]. Many cytosines were methylated in all replicates (on average 29.5% of the methylated cytosines in a given replicate), indicating that a large proportion of the C. biroi brain methylome is robust. Robust DNA methylation occurred preferentially in exonic CpGs of highly and stably expressed genes involved in core functions. Our analyses did not detect any differences in DNA methylation between the queen-like and worker-like phases, suggesting that DNA methylation is not associated with changes in reproduction and behavior in C. biroi. Finally, many cytosines were methylated in one sample only, due to either biological or experimental variation. By applying the statistical methods used in previous studies [1-4, 6] to our data, we show that such sample-specific DNA methylation may underlie the previous findings of queen- and worker-specific methylation. We argue that there is currently no evidence that genome-wide variation in DNA methylation is associated with the queen and worker castes in social insects, and we call for a more careful interpretation of the available data