Complexity Digest 2001.41

08-Oct-2001

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Content

  1. Scientists Report Finding A Gene For Speech, NYTimes
    1. A Neurocognitive Perspective On Language, Nature Rev Neuroscience
    2. The Evolution Of Intelligence, Language And Evolution, Brain and Mind
    3. E-Body Language, BMN/Trends in Cognitive Sciences
  2. Research Into Laughter Is Serious Business, CNN/Reuters, 01/10/07
  3. A Functional Imaging Study Of Cooperation In Two-Person Reciprocal Exchange, PNAS
  4. Memories Are Made Of Ads, Nature Reviews Neuroscience
  5. Encoding of Direction of Fingertip Forces by Human Tactile Afferents, J. Neurosci.
  6. Radical Embodiment: Neural Dynamics And Consciousness, BMN/Trends in Cognitive Sciences
  7. Development: A Question Of Timing, Nature Reviews Neuroscience
  8. Proteomics Of Multiprotein Complexes: Answering Fundamental Questions In Neuroscience, BMN/Trends in Biotech
  9. Genome Sequence Of Yersinia Pestis, The Causative Agent Of Plague, Nature
  10. The Emergence And Evolution Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, BMN/Trends in Microbiology
    1. Molecular Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance, Clin. Microbiol. Rev
  11. Constraint to Adaptive Evolution in Response to Global Warming, Science
    1. War Over Darwin Examined In 'Evolution', The Christian Science Monitor
  12. An Evolutionary Approach To Ecosystem Functioning, PNAS
    1. Animal Kingdom, New Scientist
    2. Phenotypic Diversity And Ecosystem Functioning In Changing Environments, PNAS
  13. Spatiotemporal Variation Of Metabolism In A Plant Circadian Rhythm, PNAS
  14. Carbon Emissions: The Economic Benefits Of The Kyoto Protocol, Nature
  15. Physiology: Cold Current In Thermoreceptive Neurons, Nature
  16. Agent-Based Computer Simulation And SIRS: Building A Bridge Between Basic Science And Clinical Trials, Shock
    1. Complexity And Non-Linearity In Shock Research: Reductionism Or Synthesis?, Shock
  17. Controlling Spatiotemporal Chemical Chaos Using Delayed Feedback, Phys Rev E
    1. Spatiotemporal Addressing of Surface Activity, Science
  18. Back To The Early Universe By A Monge-Ampere-Kantorovich Mass Transportation Method, arXiv
  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
    1. Networks, Netwars, And The Fight For The Future, First Monday
    2. A Web Of Connections, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive
    3. Intelligence Analysis Software Could Predict Attacks, New Scientist
    4. War Disturbs The Most Dangerous Political Tectonic Plate In The World, The Independent
    5. A Cautionary Tale For A New Age Of Surveillance, NYTimes
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Links
      1. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, National Center for Biotechnology Information
    2. Other Articles
      1. Analyzing Website Choice Using Clickstream Data, arXiv
      2. Electronic Commerce, Consumer Search and Retailing Cost Reduction, arXiv
      3. Characterizing The Sparseness Of Neural Codes, Netw: Comp Neural Syst.
      4. Optimal Nonlinear Codes For The Perception Of Natural Colours, Netw: Comp Neural Syst.
      5. Snapping Shrimp Make Flashing Bubbles, Nature
      6. Bubbling Seas Can Sink Ships, New Scientist
      7. Photos of Eros Raise Question of Erosion in Space, The New York Times
      8. Spinal And Supraspinal Factors In Human Muscle Fatigue, Physiol. Rev.
      9. Complexity of Lung Cancer Modifiers: Mapping of Thirty Genes and Twenty-five Interactions in Half of the Mouse Genome, J. Natl. Cancer Inst.
    3. Conference Announcements
    4. Pup Alert

  1. Scientists Report Finding A Gene For Speech, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: A team of geneticists and linguists say they have found a gene that underlies speech and language, the first to be linked to this uniquely human faculty.

    The discovery buttresses the idea that language is acquired and generated by specific neural circuitry in the brain, rather than by general brain faculties.

    The gene, which joins a handful known to affect human behavior, is of particular interest because its role is to switch on a cascade of other genes in the developing brain of the fetus.


    1. A Neurocognitive Perspective On Language, Nature Rev Neuroscience Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: What are the psychological, computational and neural underpinnings of language? Are these neurocognitive correlates dedicated to language? Do different parts of language depend on distinct neurocognitive systems?

      Excerpt: Language depends on two mental capacities: a memorized ‘mental lexicon’ and a computational ‘mental grammar’. The mental lexicon is a repository of stored information, including all idiosyncratic, word-specific information.
      > (...) focus on one model — the declarative/procedural model (...) that aspects of the lexicon/grammar distinction are tied to the distinction between two well-studied brain memory systems —declarative and procedural memory.(…) in humans has implications for the evolution of language.


    2. The Evolution Of Intelligence, Language And Evolution, Brain and Mind Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Despite all differences that separate humans from other animals, especially non-human primates, it is the capacity for symbolic language (…) there are enormous differences in the complexity of human symbolic language and it cannot be explained by a simple increase in volume of neural tissue.

      Excerpt: (…) higher cognitive functions in man are determined by our brain's unique capacity for symbolic representation. (…) language is not only a mean of communication, but it is the essential basis of human consciousness.
      > The uppermost and most complex aspects of language, which are meaning and grammar, seem to be uniquely human.


    3. E-Body Language, BMN/Trends in Cognitive Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpt: US programmers are working on a new computer code for conveying non-verbal human communication. The new language, HumanMarkup Language (or HumanML), is being developed by the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) in Massachusetts. According to the committee's website , the aim is to represent human characteristics through XML (a programming language), which could include expression of emotion, body language, intentions and attitudes. This could help prevent misunderstandings in e-mail correspondence, and would enable the expression of meaning to someone who speaks a completely different language. The language would have a similar aim to existing e-mail shorthands such as:) for a smile, or: (to show sadness. However, HumanML would provide a far greater range of expression, enabling the communication of much more complex and subtle non-verbal signals. Other suggestions for potential applications of HumanML include artificial intelligence, psychotherapy and conflict resolution.

      • E-Body Language, Heidi Johansen-Berg, 2001, 5:10:416-417 BMN/Trends in Cognitive Sciences

  2. Research Into Laughter Is Serious Business, CNN/Reuters, 01/10/07 Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The researchers hypothesize that laughter originated as a way for early humans to forge partnerships. It was preceded by the debut of the smile, which communicated a positive disposition to other individuals. But a more complex signal became necessary because smiles were easy to fake. Laughter -- much more easily detected when counterfeit -- was the answer.

    (...)"And so we need to have behaviors and signals and expressions available to us that can facilitate the occurrence of cooperative behavior."

    Editor's Note: Another interesting question would be: what is it that people laugh about? Having failed miserably to lighten up my lectures in Taiwan with really funny jokes (students were eagerly taking notes about the joke) I started to believe that there are fundamental cultural differences. This was confirmed by reading popular and supposedly very funny Chinese cartoon translations that consistently didn't seem funny to me at all. Do there exist universal humorous elements such as the CNN example of watching fake orgasms?


  3. A Functional Imaging Study Of Cooperation In Two-Person Reciprocal Exchange, PNAS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Cooperation between individuals requires the ability to infer each other's mental states to form shared expectations over mutual gains and make cooperative choices that realize these gains. From evidence that the ability for mental state attribution involves the use of prefrontal cortex, we hypothesize that this area is involved in integrating theory-of-mind processing with cooperative actions. We report data from a functional MRI experiment designed to test this hypothesis. Subjects in a scanner played standard two-person "trust and reciprocity" games with both human and computer counterparts for cash rewards. Behavioral data shows that seven subjects consistently attempted cooperation with their human counterpart. Within this group prefrontal regions are more active when subjects are playing a human than when they are playing a computer following a fixed (and known) probabilistic strategy. Within the group of five noncooperators, there are no significant differences in prefrontal activation between computer and human conditions.

  4. Memories Are Made Of Ads, Nature Reviews Neuroscience Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Have you ever had your memory of a cherished — or not-so-cherished — childhood event called into question by a parent who points out that it actually happened to your brother?

    Excerpt: There is plenty of evidence that our memories are less reliable than we think they are. (…) told repeatedly (…) end up 'remembering' it created by (…) retelling of the story. Such 'false memories' can seem just as vivid as the real thing.
    > (...) experiments show that adverts can also rewrite our childhood memories. So the next time an advert prompts (...) you could be the unwitting victim of memory manipulation by the advertisers.


  5. Encoding of Direction of Fingertip Forces by Human Tactile Afferents, J. Neurosci. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In most manipulations, we use our fingertips to apply time-varying forces to the target object in controlled directions. Here we used microneurography to assess how single tactile afferents encode the direction of fingertip forces at magnitudes, rates, and directions comparable to those arising in everyday manipulations. Using a flat stimulus surface, we applied forces to a standard site on the fingertip while recording impulse activity in 196 tactile afferents with receptive fields distributed over the entire terminal phalanx. Forces were applied in one of five directions: normal force and forces at a 20° angle from the normal in the radial, distal, ulnar, or proximal directions. Nearly all afferents responded, and the responses in most slowly adapting (SA)-I, SA-II, and fast adapting (FA)-I afferents were broadly tuned to a preferred direction of force. Among afferents of each type, the preferred directions were distributed in all angular directions with reference to the stimulation site, but not uniformly. The SA-I population was biased for tangential force components in the distal direction, the SA-II population was biased in the proximal direction, and the FA-I population was biased in the proximal and radial directions. Anisotropic mechanical properties of the fingertip and the spatial relationship between the receptive field center of the afferent and the stimulus site appeared to influence the preferred direction in a manner dependent on afferent type. We conclude that tactile afferents from the whole terminal phalanx potentially contribute to the encoding of direction of fingertip forces similar to those that occur when subjects manipulate objects under natural conditions.

  6. Radical Embodiment: Neural Dynamics And Consciousness, BMN/Trends in Cognitive Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: We propose a new approach to the neuroscience of consciousness, growing out of the 'enactive' viewpoint in cognitive science. This approach aims to map the neural substrates of consciousness at the level of large-scale, emergent and transient dynamical patterns of brain activity (rather than at the level of particular circuits or classes of neurons), and it suggests that the processes crucial for consciousness cut across the brain-body-world divisions, rather than being brain-bound neural events. Whereas standard approaches to the neural correlates of consciousness have assumed a one-way causal-explanatory relationship between internal neural representational systems and the contents of consciousness, our approach allows for theories and hypotheses about the two-way or reciprocal relationship between embodied conscious states and local neuronal activity.

  7. Development: A Question Of Timing, Nature Reviews Neuroscience Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Contributing Editor's Note: Just as a person's character is believed to be shaped by their birth order relative to their siblings, so the identity of many neurons is determined by the sequence in which they are generated. The mechanisms that control this temporal mode of patterning are just beginning to be understood, and as reported in the following work, have gained important new insights into a molecular mechanism that enables neurons in Drosophila to 'remember' their birth order.

    Excerpt: The Drosophila neural precursor cells, or neuroblasts, undergo a series of asymmetric cell divisions, (...). Neurons that are born early populate the deep cell layers and develop long axonal processes (…) found evidence of regulation within the pathway, with each factor able to activate the next gene in the sequence while repressing the next-but-one gene. However, this is unlikely to be the main controlling mechanism, as inactivation of any one gene causes only minor perturbations in the expression sequence. The authors suggest the involvement of an additional clock mechanism that is linked to the cell cycle.


  8. Proteomics Of Multiprotein Complexes: Answering Fundamental Questions In Neuroscience, BMN/Trends in Biotech Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Proteomics tools offer new ways to analyse networks of proteins that control important neurobiological phenomena such as learning and memory. In this review, we discuss how a combined proteomic, pharmacological and genetic approach reveals that multiprotein complexes process neural information and encode memories. Simultaneous analysis of multiple proteins enables the development of new concepts and approaches for neuroscience research.

  9. Genome Sequence Of Yersinia Pestis, The Causative Agent Of Plague, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The recent identification of strains resistant to multiple drugs and the potential use of Y. pestis as an agent of biological warfare mean that plague still poses a threat to human health. Here we report the complete genome sequence of Y. pestis (…).The evidence of ongoing genome fluidity, expansion and decay suggests Y. pestis is a pathogen that has undergone large-scale genetic flux and provides a unique insight into the ways in which new and highly virulent pathogens evolve.
    • Genome Sequence Of Yersinia Pestis, The Causative Agent Of Plague, J Parkhill, B W Wren, N R Thomson, R W Titball, M T G Holden, M B Prentice, M Sebaihia, K D James, C Churcher, K L Mungall, S Baker,D Basham, S D Bentley, K Brooks, A M Cerdeno-Tarraga, T Chillingworth, A Cronin, R M Davies, P Davis, G Dougan, T Feltwell, N Hamlin, S Holroyd, K Jagels, A V Karlyshev, S Leather, S Moule, P C F Oyston, M Quail, K Rutherford, M Simmonds, J Skelton, K Stevens, S Whitehead, B G Barrell, Nature 413, 523 - 527 (2001)

  10. The Emergence And Evolution Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, BMN/Trends in Microbiology Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Significant advances have been made in recent years in our understanding of how methicillin resistance is acquired by Staphylococcus aureus. Integration of a staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element into the chromosome converts drug-sensitive S. aureus into the notorious hospital pathogen methicilin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), which is resistant to practically all b-lactam antibiotics. SCCmec is a novel class of mobile genetic element that is composed of the mec gene complex encoding methicillin resistance and the ccr gene complex that encodes recombinases responsible for its mobility. These elements also carry various resistance genes for non-b-lactam antibiotics. After acquiring an SCCmec element, MRSA undergoes several mutational events and evolves into the most difficult-to-treat pathogen in hospitals, against which all extant antibiotics including vancomycin are ineffective. Recent epidemiological data imply that MRSA has embarked on another evolutionary path as a community pathogen, as at least one novel SCCmec element seems to have been successful in converting S. aureus strains from the normal human flora into MRSA.

    1. Molecular Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance, Clin. Microbiol. Rev Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: The determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of a clinical isolate, especially with increasing resistance, is often crucial for the optimal antimicrobial therapy of infected patients. Nucleic acid-based assays for the detection of resistance may offer advantages over phenotypic assays. Examples are the detection of the methicillin resistance-encoding mecA gene in staphylococci, rifampin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the spread of resistance determinants across the globe. However, molecular assays for the detection of resistance have a number of limitations. New resistance mechanisms may be missed, and in some cases the number of different genes makes generating an assay too costly to compete with phenotypic assays. In addition, proper quality control for molecular assays poses a problem for many laboratories, and this results in questionable results at best. The development of new molecular techniques, e.g., PCR using molecular beacons and DNA chips, expands the possibilities for monitoring resistance. Although molecular techniques for the detection of antimicrobial resistance clearly are winning a place in routine diagnostics, phenotypic assays are still the method of choice for most resistance determinations. In this review, we describe the applications of molecular techniques for the detection of antimicrobial resistance and the current state of the art.


  11. Constraint to Adaptive Evolution in Response to Global Warming, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: How rapidly can organisms adapt to global climate change? From an experimental study on a native legume of the American Great Plains, Etterson and Shaw (p. 151) have calculated the number of generations needed for adaptive changes to take place, and compare this estimate with the trajectory of predicted climate change. Adaptive evolution in response to global change is constrained by antagonistic genetic correlations among traits within populations of the plant, which suggests that plants of this kind might not adapt sufficiently rapidly toprojected climate changes.

    Abstract: We characterized the genetic architecture of three populations of a native North American prairie plant in field conditions that simulate the warmer and more arid climates predicted by global climate models. Despite genetic variance for traits under selection, among-trait genetic correlations that are antagonistic to the direction of selection limit adaptive evolution within these populations. Predicted rates of evolutionary response are much slower than the predicted rate of climate change.


    1. War Over Darwin Examined In 'Evolution', The Christian Science Monitor Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpt: (...) "Evolution" means change. But the theory of evolution means war - at least for certain religious groups that take Genesis literally. And the new seven-part, eight-hour series on PBS, Evolution, does its best not only to explain Charles Darwin's theory of the origins of material life, but to take seriously conservative Christians' religious objections to it. (...)

      Laced throughout the biography are modern illustrations of Darwin's discoveries. Because the theory of evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology, the series details how it has been applied, particularly to medical research. (...)


  12. An Evolutionary Approach To Ecosystem Functioning, PNAS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: (...) Norberg et al. modeled ecosystems as complex adaptive systems. In their nonequilibrium model, there was no optimal match between organismal traits and environmental conditions because the environment was constantly changing, favoring different traits at different times. Rather, the temporal dynamics of the environment and its effects on interactions among organisms with different heritable traits determined which traits persisted and their abundances. The end result of these evolutionary dynamics was that organismal traits tracked environmental change, albeit with a time lag.

    1. Animal Kingdom, New Scientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpt: As a result, the long-term productivity for a group of species with high phenotypic variance may be higher than for the best single species, even though high phenotypic variance decreases productivity in the short term, because suboptimal species are present. In addition, we find that in the case of accelerating environmental change, species succession in a changing environment may become discontinuous. Our work suggests that this phenomenon is related to diversity as well as to the environmental disturbance regime, both of which are affected by anthropogenic activities.


    2. Phenotypic Diversity And Ecosystem Functioning In Changing Environments, PNAS Next Article Bookmark and Share

      [Q:] Why would anyone want to bring back large mammals?

      [A:] One reason would be to put our ecosystem back in some sort of shape. In Britain we have the least natural mammal population of any country in the world bar New Zealand, where virtually everything is introduced apart from a couple of species of bats. In Britain, the biomass of rabbits alone exceeds all the other wild mammals combined--and that's an introduced species that's been living wild in this country in reasonable numbers for only about two hundred years.

      • Animal Kingdom, New Scientist Innterview with Stephen Harris, a zoologist at Bristol University , 01/10

  13. Spatiotemporal Variation Of Metabolism In A Plant Circadian Rhythm, PNAS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: The complex dynamic properties of biological timing in organisms remain a central enigma in biology despite the increasingly precise genetic characterization of oscillating units and their components. Although attempts to obtain the time constants from oscillations of gene activity and biochemical units have led to substantial progress, we are still far from a full molecular understanding of endogenous rhythmicity and the physiological manifestations of biological clocks. Applications of nonlinear dynamics have revolutionized thinking in physics and in biomedical and life sciences research, and spatiotemporal considerations are now advancing our understanding of development and rhythmicity.

  14. Carbon Emissions: The Economic Benefits Of The Kyoto Protocol, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The third Conference of the Parties in Kyoto set the target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions (…). One of the main objections to the protocol's ratification is that compliance would pose an unbearable economic burden on the countries involved. But we show here that this is not the case if costs apart from the direct costs of energy production are also considered. Costs are also incurred in rectifying damage to human health, material goods, agriculture and the environment related to greenhouse-gas emissions.

  15. Physiology: Cold Current In Thermoreceptive Neurons, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: We sense the temperature of our skin and surroundings using specific thermoreceptors, which are sensitive to cold and warmth, but little is known about how these receptors transduce temperature into electrical activity. We have discovered an inward ionic current that is activated by moderate cooling in a small number of rat sensory neurons. This current has features that are found in intact cold receptors, including sensitization by menthol, adaptation upon sustained cooling, and modulation by calcium, and is likely to be important in cold sensing.

  16. Agent-Based Computer Simulation And SIRS: Building A Bridge Between Basic Science And Clinical Trials, Shock Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: The management of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)/Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) remains the greatest challenge in the field of critical care. There has been uniform difficulty in translating the results of basic science research into effective therapeutic regimes. We propose that this is due in part to a failure to account for the complex, nonlinear nature of the inflammatory process of which SIRS/MOF represents a disordered state. Attempts to manipulate this process without an understanding of the dynamics of the system may potentially produce unintended consequences. Agent-Based Computer Simulation (ABCS) provides a means to synthesize the information acquired from the linear analysis of basic science into a model that preserves the complexity of the inflammatory system. We have constructed an abstracted version of the inflammatory process using an ABCS that is based at the cellular level. Despite its abstraction, the simulation produces non-linear behavior and reproduces the dynamic structure of the inflammatory response. Furthermore, adjustment of the simulation to model one of the unsuccessful initial anti-inflammatory trials of the 1990's demonstrates the adverse outcome that was observed in those clinical trials.

    1. Complexity And Non-Linearity In Shock Research: Reductionism Or Synthesis?, Shock Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The various analytical techniques used to explain the many supposed mediators of sepsis and septic shock have outpaced the integrative approaches that simplify this complexity for the physiologist and the clinician. In this article we discuss the pros and cons of reductionism and its limitations in the field of shock research and emphasize the need for synthesis research. (…) The understanding of complex systems requires approaches other than those of explanatory reductionism. We emphasize a different approach-systems thinking. Systems scientists are not interested in the underlying components; they describe and characterize complex relations.


  17. Controlling Spatiotemporal Chemical Chaos Using Delayed Feedback, Phys Rev E Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Control of chemical chaos in a spatially extended system mimicking CO oxidation on a Pt(110) single-crystal surface is achieved using delayed feedback techniques. For appropriate parameter values the uncontrolled model system exhibits both amplitude and phase turbulence. Superimposing a delayed feedback on the natural dynamics, suppression of spatiotemporal complexity is attained via stabilization of ordered states consisting of stable patterns.

    1. Spatiotemporal Addressing of Surface Activity, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary: Chemical waves, such as reaction fronts on metal surfaces or Ca waves in cells, can be modified in many ways, such as by pulsing reactants or introducing physical barriers. Wolff et al. (p. 134) show that localized surface heating can be used to control the evolution of chemical waves produced during the oxidation of CO on a Pt surface. Wave fronts can be launched and redirected, either under operator control or feedback optimized under computer control.

      Abstract: We have modified surface catalytic activity in real time and space by focusing an addressable laser beam to differentially heat a platinum (110) single-crystal surface. Ellipsomicroscopy imaging of local conditions (such as reactant and product local coverages) enabled us to close the loop between sensing and actuation (both spatiotemporally resolved). Pulses and fronts, the basic building blocks of patterns, could be formed, accelerated, modified, guided, and destroyed at will. Real-time image processing and feedback allow the design and implementation of new classes of nonlocal evolution rules.


  18. Back To The Early Universe By A Monge-Ampere-Kantorovich Mass Transportation Method, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Reconstructing the minute density fluctuations in the early Universe that evolved into a highly clumpy matter distribution, as revealed by the present distribution of luminous matter, constitutes a major challenge of modern cosmology. A number of techniques have been devised in recent years which attempt to achieve this aim by using galaxy positions alone [8 refs.]. However, without knowledge of their velocities, this problem is not well-posed and its solution suffers frequently from lack of uniqueness. Here we make the hypothesis that the map from initial to present locations of mass elements is irrotational. Using recent mathematical work [Brenier], we then relate reconstruction to ``mass transportation', a well-posed optimisation problem in engineering introduced by Monge in 1781. We propose a new powerful algorithm for unique reconstruction which, when tested against N-body simulations, gives excellent reconstruction down to scales of a few comoving megaparsecs and demonstrates the validity of our hypothesis. The uniqueness and the quality achieved are essential for the analysis of the large datasets expected from new-generation galaxy redshift surveys.

  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Editor's Notes: We are very pleased that our ComDig Complexity Challenge led to the first concrete results and anti-terrorist networking within the complexity community: Konrad Richter of McKinsey & Company sent a letter to the editor:
    "After the shock about the tragic events of September 11 had settled down a little, I was convinced that systems theory should be able to make some contribution to defeating terrorism. While looking around in newsgroups and magazines, I was disappointed: No single comment was made on what our contribution might be. So I sat down for myself and tried to figure out where I could imagine that the science of complexity could be of use."

    1. Networks, Netwars, And The Fight For The Future, First Monday Next Article Bookmark and Share

      He then described some of his own ideas that were very similar to those that Valdis Krebs had shared with Complexity Digest (see ComDig01-40/#19) . In the ensuing discussion other relevant resources were shared: A paper by David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla of RAND clearly outlines how a terririst network is best described as a complex adaptive system:

      "Third, in terms of doctrine, the al-Qaeda network seems to have a grasp of the nonlinear nature of the battlespace, and of the value of attack from multiple directions by dispersed small units. (…) Thus, bin Laden and his cohorts appear to have developed a swarm-like doctrine that features a campaign of episodic, pulsing attacks by various nodes of his network - at locations sprawled across global time and space where he has advantages for seizing the initiative, stealthily."

    2. A Web Of Connections, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive Next Article Bookmark and Share

      The authors then go on to make some suggestions of how "U.S. doctrine (...) based on aging notions of strategic bombardment" needs to be adapted with the help of insights from complex systems theory.

      Based on published information (A Web Of Connections, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive, 2001), Valdis then could apply his network analysis tools to the concrete case of the Hijacker Network of the 19 individuals who are believed to have been responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon:

      "Line thickness denotes strength of relationship... the thicker the line the stronger the tie.

      This is based on public info source, some of which did not agree with each other.To do a more accurate map I would need data directly from the investigators. This is also a map that changes as new data is discovered... it is emergent.

      When network centrality metrics are run on this map, Mohammed Atta does emerge as the leader -- as many news reports have stated. He gets the highest score in Network Activity, Access, and Control -- not only does he have many ties, he is in a position that connects distant parts of the network."


    3. Intelligence Analysis Software Could Predict Attacks, New Scientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Intelligence Analysis Software Could Predict Attacks,18:19, 02 October 01, Duncan Graham-Rowe New Scientist

    4. War Disturbs The Most Dangerous Political Tectonic Plate In The World, The Independent Next Article Bookmark and Share

      War Disturbs The Most Dangerous Political Tectonic Plate In The World, The Independent, Robert Fisk, The Independent, 01/10/08

    5. A Cautionary Tale For A New Age Of Surveillance, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      A Cautionary Tale For A New Age Of Surveillance,Jeffrey Rosen, NYTimes, 01/10/07

  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Links Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, National Center for Biotechnology Information Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, National Center for Biotechnology Information

    2. Other Articles Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Analyzing Website Choice Using Clickstream Data, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Analyzing Website Choice Using Clickstream Data, Avi Goldfarb, arXiv. Paper ID: cs.CY/0110008. 01/10/02

      2. Electronic Commerce, Consumer Search and Retailing Cost Reduction, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Electronic Commerce, Consumer Search and Retailing Cost Reduction, Pedro Pereira, Cristina Mazón, arXiv. Paper ID: cs.HC/0110006. 01/10/02

      3. Characterizing The Sparseness Of Neural Codes, Netw: Comp Neural Syst. Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Characterizing The Sparseness Of Neural Codes, , B Willmore and D J Tolhurst, Network: Comput. Neural Syst. 12 255-270 (October 2001).

      4. Optimal Nonlinear Codes For The Perception Of Natural Colours, Netw: Comp Neural Syst. Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Optimal Nonlinear Codes For The Perception Of Natural Colours, T. von der Twer and D I A MacLeod, Network: Comput. Neural Syst. 12 (2001) 395-407.

      5. Snapping Shrimp Make Flashing Bubbles, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Snapping Shrimp Make Flashing Bubbles, Nature 413, 477 - 478 (2001)

      6. Bubbling Seas Can Sink Ships, New Scientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Bubbling Seas Can Sink Ships, Joanna Marchant, New Scientist, 01/09/26

      7. Photos of Eros Raise Question of Erosion in Space, The New York Times Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Photos of Eros Raise Question of Erosion in Space, The New York Times, 01/10/02

      8. Spinal And Supraspinal Factors In Human Muscle Fatigue, Physiol. Rev. Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Spinal And Supraspinal Factors In Human Muscle Fatigue, S. C. Gandevia, Physiol. Rev. 2001 October 1; 81(4): p. 1725-1789

      9. Complexity of Lung Cancer Modifiers: Mapping of Thirty Genes and Twenty-five Interactions in Half of the Mouse Genome, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. Next Article Bookmark and Share

        Complexity of Lung Cancer Modifiers: Mapping of Thirty Genes and Twenty-five Interactions in Half of the Mouse Genome, Nikos Tripodis, Augustinus A. M. Hart, Remond J. A. Fijneman, Peter Demant, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2001 October 3; 93(19): p. 1484-1491

    3. Conference Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Workshop On Interdisciplinary Studies And Complexity, National University of Mexico, 01/10/22-26
      2. 1st Asia-Pacific Conf On Web Intelligence, Maebashi TERRSA, Maebashi City, Japan, 01/10/23-26
      3. The Impact of Complexity in Industry, Univ. Warwick, 01/10/29-30
      4. International Conference on Systems Thinking Globally Concerned, University of Vienna and Vienna University of Technology, 01/11/01-04
      5. Developing A Cyber-Democracy: "Government of the Future", Brookings Inst., Washington, DC. , 01/11/05-09
      6. Digitizing Decisions and Markets, Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 01/11/17-20
      7. II World Congress of Citizens Networks, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 01/12/05-07
      8. From Worker to Colony: Understanding the Organisation of Insect Societies, Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, UK. , 01/12/07-08
      9. Intl Conf on Current Trends In Differential Equations And Dynamical Systems, Kanpur, India, 01/12/15-17
      10. Complex Systems , Modeling Nonlinear Natural and Human Systems, Hawaii International Conference On System Sciences, HICSS-35, Hawaii, 02/01/07-10
      11. 1st Biennial Seminar on Philosophical, Methodological & Epistemological Implications of Complexity Theory, La Habana, Cuba, 02/01/07-11
      12. Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics, Collective Phenomena and Complexity: Dynamical Model Formulation, Analysis and Symmetry, Canberra, Australia, 02/01/21-02/01
      13. AIS'2002: Towards Component-Based Modeling and Simulation, Lisbon, Portugal, 02/04/07-10
      14. World Conference NL 2002 - Networked Learning in a Global Environment: Challenges and Solutions for Virtual Education, Berlin, Germany, 01/05/01-04
      15. 7th International Conference on Music Perception & Cognition - ICMPC7, Sydney, 02/07/17-21
      16. Self-Organisation and Evolution of Social Behaviour, Monte Verità, Switzerland, 02/09/08-13


    4. Pup Alert Bookmark and Share

      The following articles can be obtained from http://www.thescientificworld.com. by searching for the title words.

      1. The Complex Phenomenon of Illness, Tymieniecka, A.-T.; Agazzi, A., ANALECTA HUSSERLIANA, 2001; VOL 72
      2. Observations on Complex Multi-state CAs, Bilotta, E.; Pantano, P., LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
      3. Neutral Networks and Evolvability with Complex Genotype-Phenotype Mapping, Smith, T.; Husbands, P.; O Shea, M., LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
      4. Emergent Syntax: The Unremitting Value of Computational Modeling for Understanding the Origins of Complex Language, Zuidema, W. H., LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
      5. Taxonomy in Alife. Measures of Similarity for Complex Artificial Organisms, Komosinski, M.; Kubiak, M., LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
      6. Rule extraction from decision trees with complex nominal data, Fountoukis, S. G.; Bekakos, M. P.; Kontos, J. P., NEURAL PARALLEL AND SCIENTIFIC COMPUTATIIONS
      7. Patterns and Processes of Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana are Complex: A Reply to Turner 2001. Estimating the Indirect Effects of Hydrologic Change on Wetland Loss: If the Earth is Curved, Then How Would We Know It?, Day, J. W.; Shaffer, G. P.; Reed, D. J.; Cahoon, D. R.; Britsch, L. D.; Hawes, S. R., ESTUARIES
      8. The relationship between Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need, and patients' perceptions of malocclusion: a study in general dental practice, Koochek, A. R.; Yeh, M. S.-T.; Rolfe, B.; Richmond, S., BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL
      9. Robustness and diversity in genetic algorithms for a complex combinatorial optimization problem, Brizuela, C. A.; Sannomiya, N., INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE
      10. Estimates of average complexity of neurocontrol algorithms, Hrycej, T., NEURAL NETWORKS -OXFORD-
      11. Just-in-time information presentation and the acquisition of complex cognitive skills, Kester, L.; Kirschner, P. A.; van Merrienboer, J. J.; Baumer, A., COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
      12. Chipping away at complex behavior: Transcriptome/phenotype correlations in the mouse brain, Carter, T. A.; Del Rio1, J. A.; Greenhall, J. A.; Latronica, M. L.; Lockhart, D. J.; Barlow, C., PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR
      13. Classical and Quantum Complexity and Non-extensive Thermodynamics, Grigolini, P.; Tsallis, C.; West, B., CHAOS SOLITONS AND FRACTALS
      14. Entropic nonextensivity: a possible measure of complexity, Tsallis, C., CHAOS SOLITONS AND FRACTALS
      15. Optimality, entropy and complexity for nonextensive quantum scattering, Ion, D. B.; Ion, M. L., CHAOS SOLITONS AND FRACTALS
      16. Weaving the complex web of signal transduction., Chory, J.; Wu DongYing; Wu, D. Y., Plant Physiology
      17. Evolution of self-governance within a harvesting system governed by Individual Transferable Quota., Arbuckle, M.; Drummond, K.; Shotton, R., FAO Fisheries Technical Paper
      18. African poverty at the Millennium: causes, complexities, and challenges., White, H.; Killick, T.; Kayizzi-Mugerwa, S.; Savane, M. A.; White, H.; Killick, T.; Kayizzi-Mugerwa, S.; Savane, M. -A.,

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