Crafting Conductive Circuits and Capacitive Surfaces in Glass

Engaging the theme Procedures of Making, this paper describes and reflects on methods and processes used in the development of circuits in handcrafted glass and conductive materials, combined with interactive sensors. Demonstrating the potentials for blending techniques of artisanal glassmaking with digital manufacture and electronics, a series of cross-disciplinary workshops yielded a body of objects. These results, and the group of researchers collaborating to produce them, shared a common goal of experimenting with interactivity. The project seeks to provide a demonstration of how the combined skills of makers might expose new opportunities for forms of interaction with crafted objects, and for traditional craftspeople to form a connection with digital possibilities in creative work. While there are many potentials for digital interactions and experts who can produce them, the exploration of handcrafted conductive glass constructions offer exciting possibilities for crafting interfaces with rich material characteristics. Glass is a material that can be formed through skillful blowing, casting, cutting and kilnforming. It adds potential uses of colour, transparency, weight and potential for optical effects. More specifically in this research it can be combined with copper and other conductive materials through a range traditional and more contemporary fabrication processes. Combined with open-source electronics platforms (e.g Arduino and Touchboard) and their associated sensor arrays a myriad of effects can be prototyped. Encouraging the sharing of practice using both digital and physical making, the project seeks to consider craft as a way of thinking in a range of different media both electronic and analogue, rather than as distinct areas of practice. This paper is navigated by the following: a description of the project background and aspirations, development of an approach, illustration of results, reflection on the collaboration and possibilities for further research

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Composición, estructura y diversidad florística del bosque seco en el Valle de Agalta, Honduras

Dry forests are considered one of the most threatened ecosystems in the tropics due to anthropogenic activities that cause fragmentation and habitat loss. Structural and plant composition data were collected from 265 plots in 35 sites, resulting in the identification of 316 species distributed in 76 families and 222 genera, including 79% eudicot, 15% monocot, 8% monilophytes, and 1% gymnosperms. The vertical and horizontal distribution indicated that the forest is dominated by young individuals. Acacia picachensis (Fabaceae), Eugenia hondurensis (Myrtaceae), and Lysiloma acapulcense (Fabaceae) were identified as the most dominant plant species based on the importance value index. The remaining Agalta Valley’s dry forest represents a unique habitat and is the refuge of many native, rare, and endemic species, including some considered high conservation priority.Los bosques secos se consideran uno de los ecosistemas más amenazados en el trópico por las actividades antrópicas que han fragmentado y reducido el hábitat. Este estudio documentó la composición florística del bosque seco del Valle de Agalta en Honduras, con énfasis en los sitios donde habita el colibrí esmeralda (Amazilia luciae), un ave endémica y en peligro de extinción. Se colectaron datos de la estructura y composición vegetal de 265 parcelas en 35 sitios. Se identificaron 316 especies distribuidas en 76 familias y 222 géneros, que incluyen 79% eudicotiledóneas, 15% monocotiledóneas, 8% monilófitas y 1% gimnospermas. Las distribuciones vertical y horizontal indican que el bosque está dominado por individuos jóvenes. Las asociaciones vegetales más dominantes, según el índice de valor de importancia,  fueron Acacia picachensis (Fabaceae), Eugenia hondurensis (Myrtaceae) y Lysiloma acapulcense (Fabaceae). Se concluye que el Valle de Agalta aún posee bosque seco, que representa un hábitat único y es el refugio de muchas especies nativas, raras y endémicas, enlistándose algunas especies de alta prioridad de conservación

The evolution of the vestibular apparatus in apes and humans

Phylogenetic relationships among extinct hominoids (apes and humans) are controversial due to pervasive homoplasy and the incompleteness of the fossil record. The bony labyrinth might contribute to this debate, as it displays strong phylogenetic signal among other mammals. However, the potential of the vestibular apparatus for phylogenetic reconstruction among fossil apes remains understudied. Here we test and quantify the phylogenetic signal embedded in the vestibular morphology of extant anthropoids (monkeys, apes and humans) and two extinct apes (Oreopithecus and Australopithecus) as captured by a deformation-based 3D geometric morphometric analysis. We also reconstruct the ancestral morphology of various hominoid clades based on phylogenetically-informed maximum likelihood methods. Besides revealing strong phylogenetic signal in the vestibule and enabling the proposal of potential synapomorphies for various hominoid clades, our results confirm the relevance of vestibular morphology for addressing the controversial phylogenetic relationships of fossil apes.Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Generalitat de Catalunya and Agencia Estatal de Investigación.http://elifesciences.orgam2020Anatom

Role of sea ice in global biogeochemical cycles: Emerging views and challenges

Observations from the last decade suggest an important role of sea ice in the global biogeochemical cycles, promoted by (i) active biological and chemical processes within the sea ice; (ii) fluid and gas exchanges at the sea ice interface through an often permeable sea ice cover; and (iii) tight physical, biological and chemical interactions between the sea ice, the ocean and the atmosphere. Photosynthetic micro-organisms in sea ice thrive in liquid brine inclusions encased in a pure ice matrix, where they find suitable light and nutrient levels. They extend the production season, provide a winter and early spring food source, and contribute to organic carbon export to depth. Under-ice and ice edge phytoplankton blooms occur when ice retreats, favoured by increasing light, stratification, and by the release of material into the water column. In particular, the release of iron – highly concentrated in sea ice – could have large effects in the iron-limited Southern Ocean. The export of inorganic carbon transport by brine sinking below the mixed layer, calcium carbonate precipitation in sea ice, as well as active iceatmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes, could play a central role in the marine carbon cycle. Sea ice processes could also significantly contribute to the sulphur cycle through the large production by ice algae of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of sulfate aerosols, which as cloud condensation nuclei have a potential cooling effect on the planet. Finally, the sea ice zone supports significant ocean-atmosphere methane (CH4) fluxes, while saline ice surfaces activate springtime atmospheric bromine chemistry, setting ground for tropospheric ozone depletion events observed near both poles. All these mechanisms are generally known, but neither precisely understood nor quantified at large scales. As polar regions are rapidly changing, understanding the large-scale polar marine biogeochemical processes and their future evolution is of high priority. Earth system models should in this context prove essential, but they currently represent sea ice as biologically and chemically inert. Paleoclimatic proxies are also relevant, in particular the sea ice proxies, inferring past sea ice conditions from glacial and marine sediment core records and providing analogs for future changes. Being highly constrained by marine biogeochemistry, sea ice proxies would not only contribute to but also benefit from a better understanding of polar marine biogeochemical cycles