An unexpected specialization for horizontal disparity in primate primary visual cortex

The horizontal separation of the eyes means that objects nearer or farther than the fixation point project to different locations on the two retinae, differing principally in their horizontal coordinates (horizontal binocular disparity). Disparity-selective neurons have generally been studied with disparities applied in only one direction (often horizontal), which cannot determine whether the encoding is specialized for processing disparities along the horizontal axis. It is therefore unclear if disparity selectivity represents a specialization for naturally occurring disparities. I used random dot stereograms to study disparity-selective neurons from the primary visual cortex (V1) of awake fixating monkeys. Many combinations of vertical and horizontal disparity were used, characterizing the surface of responses as a function of two-dimensional disparity. Here I report that the response surface usually showed elongation along the horizontal disparity axis, despite the isotropic stimulus. Thus these neurons modulated their firing rate over a wider range of horizontal disparity than vertical disparity. This demonstrates that disparity-selective cells are specialized for processing horizontal disparity, and that existing models of disparity selectivity require substantial revision.     

Complete genome sequence of the model actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Streptomyces coelicolor is a representative of the group of soil-dwelling, filamentous bacteria responsible for producing most natural antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. Here we report the 8,667,507 base pair linear chromosome of this organism, containing the largest number of genes so far discovered in a bacterium. The 7,825 predicted genes include more than 20 clusters coding for known or predicted secondary metabolites. The genome contains an unprecedented proportion of regulatory genes, predominantly those likely to be involved in responses to external stimuli and stresses, and many duplicated gene sets that may represent 'tissue-specific' isoforms operating in different phases of colonial development, a unique situation for a bacterium. An ancient synteny was revealed between the central 'core' of the chromosome and the whole chromosome of pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The genome sequence will greatly increase our understanding of microbial life in the soil as well as aiding the generation of new drug candidates by genetic engineering.     

Evidence that humans evolved from a knuckle-walking ancestor

Bipedalism has traditionally been regarded as the fundamental adaptation that sets hominids apart from other primates. Fossil evidence demonstrates that by 4.1 million years ago, and perhaps earlier, hominids exhibited adaptations to bipedal walking. At present, however, the fossil record offers little information about the origin of bipedalism, and despite nearly a century of research on existing fossils and comparative anatomy, there is still no consensus concerning the mode of locomotion that preceded bipedalism. Here we present evidence that fossils attributed to Australopithecus anamensis (KNM-ER 20419) and A. afarensis (AL 288-1) retain specialized wrist morphology associated with knuckle-walking. This distal radial morphology differs from that of later hominids and non-knuckle-walking anthropoid primates, suggesting that knuckle-walking is a derived feature of the African ape and human clade. This removes key morphological evidence for a Pan-Gorilla clade, and suggests that bipedal hominids evolved from a knuckle-walking ancestor that was already partly terrestrial.     

SO(10)GUT暴涨宇宙模型

当SO(10)GUT(大统一理论)模型,通过两类45维伴随表示和16维旋量表示的Higgs场破缺,计算C-W型单圈有效势,获得了SO(10)GUT的暴涨宇宙模型,得出若宇宙暴涨产生时温度为T～10~(13)GeV,就能满足密度涨落(?)～10~(-4)要求,宇宙常数为1.38×10~(52)cm~(-2),宇宙在暴涨期尺度增大～10~(800)倍。     

暴涨宇宙

本文对近几年基于大统一理论发展起来的暴涨宇宙模型作了一综合性评述。暴涨宇宙模型是在标准宇宙学遇到一系列无法克服的矛盾的情况下提出的。它使人们对极早期宇宙的认识又深化了一步,暴涨概念大大改变了人们对宇宙早期演化的了解,它是近年来早期宇宙学最重要的进展之一。     

SO（10）大统一模型有限温度下的有效势

ＳＯ（１０）大统一模型有限温度下的有效势的计算，首先应计算Φ４标量场有限温度下的有效势，同时考虑非阿贝尔规范理论的有效势，由此计算出有限温度下的ｓｏ（１０）大统一模型的有效势，这一有效势实际上是零温下的有效势与考虑温度后的修正项之和。