Complexity Digest 2003.46

Nov. 17, 2003

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Content

  1. Thought Leader Forum, Credit Suisse First Boston
    1. Trying to Measure the Amount of Information That Humans Create, NYTimes
  2. Capricious Things Don't Happen, Harvard University Gazette
    1. A Model For Leveling Coalitions Among Primate Males, Behav. Ecology & Sociobiol.
  3. False Memories Have Characteristic Brain Activity, NewScientist
    1. First Flush Of Love Not Emotional, New Scientist
    2. Scientists Uncover Neurobiological Basis For Romantic Love, Trust, And Self, ScienceDaily
  4. Where is the real Matrix?, Salon.com
  5. Heal Thyself: Patients' Bone Marrow Cells Restore Failing Hearts, Eurekalert
  6. Scientists Use DNA To Make Virus, BBC News
    1. Scientists Create Artificial Form of Life, Voice of America
    2. Designer Genomes, Pronto!, Science Now
  7. Junk DNA Passed Down Through the Ages, Science
  8. Neurobiology: Signals That Make Waves, Nature
  9. Bad Eye For The Straight Fly: Male Flesh Flies Do Not Need High-definition Vision, ScienceDaily
    1. Honeybee Workers Compete For Producing Queen-Like Pheromone Signals, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett.
    2. Effect Of Queen Quality On Interactions Between Workers And Dueling Queens In Honeybee Colonies, Behav. Ecology & Sociobiol.
    3. Females Drive Primate Social Evolution, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett.
  10. Roles for Mating and Environment in C. elegans Sex Determination, Science
  11. Evolution Of Cultural Communication Systems: Genes Encoding Learning Preferences, J. Evolutionary Biol.
    1. Birds Can Put Two and Two Together, Science Now
  12. Defence Against Multiple Enemies, J. Evolutionary Biol.
  13. What Do Neural Nets and Quantum Theory Tell Us about Mind and Reality?, arXiv
  14. Quantum Coherence in an Exchange-Coupled Dimer of Single-Molecule Magnets, Science
  15. Femtophysics: Birth Of A Quasiparticle, Nature
  16. Europe Exceeds U.S. in Refining Grid Computing, NYTimes
  17. Maybe Hanging Chads Weren't So Bad After All, NYTimes
    1. Machine Politics in the Digital Age, NYTimes
  18. US War Dead in Iraq Exceeds Early Vietnam Years, Reuters-Yahoo!
    1. Plan for Guerrilla Action May Have Predated War, NYTimes
    2. Op-Chart - How are things really going in Iraq?, NYTimes
    3. A Scary Afghan Road, NYTimes
    4. The Sabotage of Democracy, NYTimes
  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
    1. Deal on 9/11 Briefings Lets White House Edit Papers, NYTimes
    2. Analysis: Guantánamo Case About Federal Turf, NYTimes
    3. Terrorism and the U.S. Criminal Justice System, Brookings News
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Publications
    2. Webcast Announcements
    3. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements
    4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test

  1. Thought Leader Forum, Credit Suisse First Boston Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The Thought Leader Forum is a one-of-a-kind gathering that seeks to help senior investors shape and improve their mental models. We can place this year's talks into one of three categories . The first, organizations, considers the best organizational structure to solve complex problems. The second category, markets, considers how and why markets are efficient or inefficient. Finally, some talks will pull investors out of their typical time horizon and encourage a longer-term perspective. The talks on organizational structure and problem solving tend to address one of two angles: either how informational diversity can help solve complex problems better than a lack of diversity, or how companies can think about and implement change.

    1. Trying to Measure the Amount of Information That Humans Create, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The authors of the report estimate that in 2002 the human species stored about five exabytes of new information on paper, film, optical or magnetic media, a number that doubled in the past three years. Five exabytes, as it happens, is equivalent to all words ever spoken by humans since the dawn of time. (…) In 2002, that telephone traffic added up to about 17 exabytes, more than three times all the words ever spoken by humans until that point.

  2. Capricious Things Don't Happen, Harvard University Gazette Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: "I do think - and this is what my second lecture will be about - that there is something quasireligious in science, the sense of awe, the sense of wonder, the sense of almost spiritual response to the universe, which I believe I have and many other scientists have developed to a high degree, but I would resist confusing that with the supernatural." By the supernatural, Dawkins has in mind forces that ostensibly override the laws of nature. He characterizes the religious view as the belief "that there are capricious interventions by some sort of supernatural being, some sort of intelligence, that interfere with the world, that interfere with the universe, in ways that violate the laws of physics.

    1. A Model For Leveling Coalitions Among Primate Males, Behav. Ecology & Sociobiol. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: We present a simple model of within-group leveling coalitions among male primates. The model assumes that the value of the coalition is the sum of the payoffs of its members, that the individuals payoff is monotonically decreasing with its rank (...). It predicts that mainly mid- to low rankers engage in leveling coalitions, (...). These predictions agree reasonably well with observations in nature. The model also makes the novel predictions that leveling coalitions are found where male mating competition has only a moderate contest component, and that male dominance ranks will become poorly differentiated where leveling coalitions are frequent.

  3. False Memories Have Characteristic Brain Activity, NewScientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: A study has revealed characteristic activity in the brain that predicts whether a memory is accurate or false. The difference occurs at the time of recall, suggesting that a test for false memory might one day be possible. (…) found that sensory areas of the brain, rather than the regions thought to deal specifically with memory, are more active when people recall information correctly. The researchers asked volunteers to try to recall whether a particular shape had been in a previously viewed group, while scanning their brains.

    1. First Flush Of Love Not Emotional, New Scientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: When you first fall in love, you are not experiencing an emotion, but a motivation or drive, new brain scanning studies have shown. The early stages of a romantic relationship spark activity in dopamine-rich brain regions associated with motivation and reward. The more intense the relationship is, the greater the activity. The regions associated with emotion, such as the insular cortex and parts of the anterior cingulate cortex, are not activated until the more mature phases of a relationship

    2. Scientists Uncover Neurobiological Basis For Romantic Love, Trust, And Self, ScienceDaily Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: In new studies, scientists are discovering the neurobiological underpinnings of romantic love, trust, and even of self. New research also shows that a specific brain area - the amygdala - is involved in the process of understanding the intentions of others, in particular when lying is involved. Using brain imaging, (...) find that feelings of intense romantic love are associated with specific activity in dopamine-rich brain regions associated with reward and motivation. The researchers conclude that romantic love may be best classified as a motivation system or drive associated with a range of emotions.

  4. Where is the real Matrix?, Salon.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: In the futuristic vision of the Wachowski brothers' movie trilogy "The Matrix," humans dive into a virtual world by connecting their brains directly to a computer. Most movie viewers may consider direct interfaces with the nervous system as much of a fantasy as the movie's gravity-defying special effects. However, for a small group of engineers and scientists this very real idea underlies a medical technology that could help millions of disabled people see and hear -- and live normal lives. Unfortunately, serious real-world bureaucratic hurdles have slowed the development of this technology, and its potential remains largely untapped.

  5. Heal Thyself: Patients' Bone Marrow Cells Restore Failing Hearts, Eurekalert Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Bone marrow stem cells restored heart muscle that was damaged from a heart attack, providing a new treatment for failing hearts, (…). The bone marrow cells came from patients' own blood and were injected into their ailing hearts. The cells fueled new cell growth, which strengthened the heart's pumping capacity. "These results demonstrate for the first time that transplantation of a person's own stem cells through direct intracoronary injection increased cardiac function, blood flow and metabolism in the damaged zone,(…) "If a prospective, randomized, multicenter study confirms these encouraging results, a new therapy for heart attacks could be in reach," he said.

  6. Scientists Use DNA To Make Virus, BBC News Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: US scientists have produced a wholly artificial virus using a method they claim could lead to new lifeforms. These synthetic organisms - on the scale of bacteria - could be engineered to produce clean energy or mop up pollution, the researchers say. It is only the second time a virus has been constructed from scratch in the lab, but the new effort is said to produce substantially quicker results. (…) The newly constructed microbe is a replica of the phiX virus, which occurs naturally and infects bacteria - not humans.

    1. Scientists Create Artificial Form of Life, Voice of America Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: "The team was actually more successful than any of us imagined, and we got viruses with 100 percent of the activity, showing that the synthesis method was very robust," (…) Researchers had previously created an artificial poliovirus by stringing together DNA fragments and then letting a naturally occurring enzyme transform the string into proteins that ultimately formed an infectious microbe. But that process took three years and produced organisms with defective genes. In contrast, the Phi-X virus took only 14 days to make and it was without defects.

    2. Designer Genomes, Pronto!, Science Now Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Made-to-order viral genomes came a step closer to reality today. Molecular biologists announced that, in just 2 weeks, they had assembled an artificial bacterial virus from its components. The virus was able to infect and kill bacteria almost as well as the real thing. The achievement, while celebrated as a major step forward in synthetic biology, could also make it easier for bioterrorists to make dangerous pathogens. Ever since researchers began deciphering DNA, they have wondered if they could use the sequences to build synthetic genomes.

  7. Junk DNA Passed Down Through the Ages, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: How important are the noncoding regions of the human genome in evolution? Dermitzakis et al. (p. 1033; see the Perspective by Johnston and Stormo) examined a set of 191 nongenic regions on human chromosome 21 and found that they were even more conserved than protein-coding regions in 14 mammalian species. Patterns of nucleotide substitution were different from that seen in protein-coding and noncoding RNA genes, which suggests that particular evolutionary constraints may have been in operation. The extent of conservation indicates that there is some function for these regions that remains to be determined.

  8. Neurobiology: Signals That Make Waves, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: What is the significance of the waves of calcium release in astroglia? (…) Calcium waves can also propagate through many astroglia and regulate synapses over wide areas by means of gap junctions, which are connections between cells that allow molecules to move from one cell to another11. It was known that BDNF promotes both short- and long-term enhancement of synaptic strength, but the underlying mechanisms were poorly understood. (…) it may exert its effects on neuronal synapses in part by triggering calcium signaling in astroglia.

  9. Bad Eye For The Straight Fly: Male Flesh Flies Do Not Need High-definition Vision, ScienceDaily Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: While examining the flight behavior of flesh flies, Cornell University entomologists have discovered that males of the species (Sarcophagidae: Neobellieria bullata ) - traveling at very high speed, soaring in sexual pursuit and swiveling their heads like gun turrets - literally can lose sight of a target female. Yet the males compensate for the momentary loss of vision and still catch up to mate. "This fly has a very small brain, but it moves at relatively fast speeds, over 2 meters per second. The male flesh fly is very successful at chasing and catching the female even without an elaborate, high-powered onboard computer."

    1. Honeybee Workers Compete For Producing Queen-Like Pheromone Signals, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Physical fights are the usual means of establishing dominance hierarchies among animals. This behaviour is extreme in honeybee colonies. Virgin queens will fight until all are dead but one, which survives to gain the colony. Their stingers are designed to kill the rival. Workers can also compete for reproductive dominance, and can successfully establish themselves as pseudoqueens in the colony. However, when workers compete for dominance, they do not engage each other physically, but instead use chemicals to outcompete their rivals. The result of this pheromonal combat is not death but the sterility of the loser.

    2. Effect Of Queen Quality On Interactions Between Workers And Dueling Queens In Honeybee Colonies, Behav. Ecology & Sociobiol. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: The fitness of a social insect colony depends greatly on the quality (i.e., mating ability, fecundity, and offspring viability) of its queen(s). (...) young queens that compete in a series of lethal duels to replace a colonys previous queen. Workers interact with queens during these duels and could increase their inclusive fitness by biasing the outcomes of the duels in favor of high-quality queens. We conclude that if workers actively select high-quality queens, then they do so prior to queen duels, during queen development. We suggest that each worker-queen interaction has a distinct adaptive significance rather than forming a suite of behavior that favors particular queens.

    3. Females Drive Primate Social Evolution, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Theories on why some primate species live in groups while others do not mainly revolve around predictions from sexual selection theory; while females are expected to group according to circumstances set by the environment, males should simply go where the females are. It follows that changes in male sociality should lag behind changes in female sociality. By comparing group size evolution for males and females using a dated phylogeny and a statistical method specifically aimed at detecting such evolutionary lag, we were able to confirm this expectation. Our results therefore support the view that females drive primate social evolution.

  10. Roles for Mating and Environment in C. elegans Sex Determination, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In Caenorhabditis elegans the two sexes, hermaphrodites and males, are thought to be irreversibly determined at fertilization by the ratio of X chromosomes to sets of autosomes: XX embryos develop as hermaphrodites and XO embryos as males. We show instead that both sex and genotype of C. elegans can be altered postembryonically and that this flexibility requires sexual reproduction. When grown in specific bacterial metabolites, some XX larvae generated by mating males and hermaphrodites develop as males and lose one X chromosome. However, XX larvae produced by hermaphrodite self-fertilization show no such changes. We propose that sexual reproduction increases developmental flexibility of progeny, allowing for better adaptation to changing environments.

  11. Evolution Of Cultural Communication Systems: Genes Encoding Learning Preferences, J. Evolutionary Biol. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In several communication systems that rely on social learning, such as bird song, and possibly human language, the range of signals that can be learned is limited by perceptual biases - predispositions - that are presumably based on genes. (...) we examine the coevolution of such genes with the culturally transmitted communication traits themselves, using deterministic population genetic models. We argue that examining how restrictive genetic predispositions are is a useful way of examining the evolutionary origin and maintenance of learning. (...) In contrast, cultural conformity (where the most common cultural trait is favoured) leads to selection in favour of more restrictive genes.

    1. Birds Can Put Two and Two Together, Science Now Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Baby birds are all ears, and they remember what they hear. White-crowned sparrows that hatch in the late summer listen to the seasonal songs of nearby males. After a silent winter, (…), the young sparrows start to perform the song they heard as chicks a year earlier. Neuroscientists have searched in vain for neurons that harbor a song "template"--cells that encode a complete version of the bird's song. Instead, they've found neurons that respond to a portion of the song, usually a few notes, or syllables, at a time.

  12. Defence Against Multiple Enemies, J. Evolutionary Biol. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Although very common under natural conditions, the consequences of multiple enemies (parasites, predators, herbivores, or even 'chemical' enemies like insecticides) on investment in defence has scarcely been investigated. In this paper, we present a simple model of the joint evolution of two defences targeted against two enemies. We illustrate how the respective level of each defence can be influenced by the presence of the two enemies. We show that, depending on certain conditions (costs, interference or synergy between defences), an increase in selection pressure by one enemy can have dramatic effects on defence against another enemy.
    • Source: Defence Against Multiple Enemies, K. Poitrineau, S. P. Brown, M. E. Hochberg, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Nov. 2003
    • Contributed by Pritha Das - prithadas01ayahoo.com

  13. What Do Neural Nets and Quantum Theory Tell Us about Mind and Reality?, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: This paper proposes an approach to framing and answering fundamental questions about consciousness. It argues that many of the more theoretical debates about consciousness, such as debates about "when does it begin?", are misplaced and meaningless, in part because "consciousness" as a word has many valid and interesting definitions, and in part because consciousness qua mind or intelligence (the main focus here)is a matter of degree or level, not a binary variable. It proposes that new mathematical work related to functional neural network designs -- designs so functional that they can be used in engineering -- is essential to a functional understanding of intelligence as such, and outlines some key mathematics as of 1999, citing earlier work for more details. Quantum theory is relevant, but not in the simple ways proposed in more popular philosophies.

  14. Quantum Coherence in an Exchange-Coupled Dimer of Single-Molecule Magnets, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: One of the proposed architectures for quantum computing, the use of nanomagnets as the spin-based building blocks for qubits, is a step closer experimentally. Hill et al. (p. 1015) show that pairs of single molecular magnets (SMMs) can be assembled to form coupled quantum systems that exhibit coherent superposed states and sufficiently long coherence times that could enable quantum computing applications. The SMM approach may also offer a bottom-up, self-assembled approach to fabricating a quantum computer architecture.

  15. Femtophysics: Birth Of A Quasiparticle, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Extremely close in time to the initial excitation, Hase et al. have uncovered signatures of the force exerted by the electronic charge on the lattice, and by the lattice on the developing quasiparticles. The most remarkable feature is a dip in their spectra (…). The authors attribute this to a so-called Fano interaction5, originating from a coherent superposition of phonons and the broad continuum of electronic excitations. Solid-state physicists talk about 'quantum correlations' in this context; researchers from the field of quantum optics might use the term 'entanglement'.

  16. Europe Exceeds U.S. in Refining Grid Computing, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: When the Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis needed a new supercomputer for designing drugs, the company found it already had one. It was hidden in the unused computing power the company had available in the thousands of PC's that were already being used in its offices. Novartis used American software technology to harness the power of its office personal computers, but European and American scientists and government officials said that Europe was moving faster than the United States to capitalize on the approach, which is called grid computing.

  17. Maybe Hanging Chads Weren't So Bad After All, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: (…) software is inspected and tested by election officials before it's certified. There's only one problem: Diebold engineers can slip in and make changes to the software even AFTER it's been certified. (...) made no fewer than three rounds of software changes to the machines in Georgia's 2002 election for governor--after the machines had been certified but before the election began. (That election "ended in a major upset that defied all polls and put a Republican in the governor's seat for the first time in more than 130 years.")

    1. Machine Politics in the Digital Age, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: "(…) I could put something in the software (…) would change the votes from one party to another. (…) '' But Professor Dill says the inherent complexity of software code makes it nearly impossible to ensure that computerized elections are fair. He advocates that machines be required to print out a paper ballot, which voters can use to verify their selections and which will serve as an audit trail in the event of irregularities or recounts. Touch-screen machines from Diebold, called AccuVotes, do not have such a "voter verified" paper trail.

  18. US War Dead in Iraq Exceeds Early Vietnam Years, Reuters-Yahoo! Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The U.S. death toll in Iraq (…) has surpassed the number of American soldiers killed during the first three years of the Vietnam War, the brutal Cold War conflict that cast a shadow over U.S. affairs for more than a generation. A Reuters analysis of Defense Department statistics showed on Thursday that the Vietnam War, which the Army says officially began on Dec. 11, 1961, produced a combined 392 fatal casualties from 1962 through 1964, when American troop levels in Indochina stood at just over 17,000.

    1. Plan for Guerrilla Action May Have Predated War, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: American intelligence agencies have found increasing evidence that the broad outlines of the guerrilla campaign being waged against American forces in Iraq were laid down before the war by the Iraqi Intelligence Service, (…). That view is based on interrogations of former senior Iraqi officials who are now in American custody and on documents found in Iraq, government officials said. They acknowledged that intelligence agencies had earlier underestimated the strength of the resistance and the degree to which it now appears to have reflected central planning and organization.

    2. Op-Chart - How are things really going in Iraq?, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: That's a tricky question. First, it is inherently difficult to measure progress in counterinsurgency warfare and nation-building efforts. Second, reports of the latest violence - including the deaths of more than 50 American and other coalition troops in the first two weeks of November - and the highly partisan debate in Washington dominate the news coverage, overshadowing more in-depth analysis. This chart, compiled largely using United States government information, tracks a number of trends in Iraq that can help shed light on how the situation is evolving.

    3. A Scary Afghan Road, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: "Things are definitely deteriorating on the security front," notes Paul Barker, the Afghan country director for CARE International. (…) The opium boom is one indication of the downward spiral. The Taliban banned opium production in 2000, so the 2001 crop was only 185 metric tons. The U.N. estimates that this year's crop was 3,600 tons, the second-largest in Afghan history. The crop is worth twice the Afghan government's annual budget, and much of the profit will support warlords and the Taliban.

    4. The Sabotage of Democracy, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The administration is now going to grant the Governing Council's wish: it will become more or less an autonomous provisional government. (…) This new approach, the White House hopes, will make Iraqis feel more responsible for their own fate, and thus more willing to take over security from coalition forces. In sum, the administration that waged a war for democracy now wants an exit strategy that is not at all dependent upon Iraq's democratic progress. (…) administration's efforts to improve internal security and midwife democracy are now seriously at odds.

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

    1. Deal on 9/11 Briefings Lets White House Edit Papers, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said on Thursday that its deal with the White House for access to highly classified Oval Office intelligence reports would let the White House edit the documents before they were released to the commission's representatives. (…) Two Democrats on the 10-member panel say that the commission should have demanded full access to the intelligence summaries, known as the President's Daily Brief, and that the White House should not be allowed to determine what is relevant to the investigation.

    2. Analysis: Guantánamo Case About Federal Turf, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: In its decision to accept the Guant嫕amo Bay prisoners' appeals despite the Bush administration's objections, the Supreme Court brushed past the "judges keep out" fence the administration had tried to erect around its open-ended detention policy. (…) Though it may not have been clear that the court was ready to join the post-Sept. 11 debate, it now appears that the administration laid down a challenge the justices were unwilling to ignore. This was a moment long in coming: the imperial presidency meets the imperial judiciary.

    3. Terrorism and the U.S. Criminal Justice System, Brookings News Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: In a recent speech, Larry D. Thompson, former deputy attorney general and now a Brookings scholar, argued that success in fighting terrorism depends on public confidence that the government can ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans while carrying out its essential and aggressive national security efforts.

  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Other Publications Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. US Fossil Spins Web Of Intrigue, Helen Briggs, BBC News Online
      2. Error-Prone Dna Polymerases: When Making a Mistake is the Only Way to Get Ahead, Alison J. Rattray, Jeffrey N. Strathern, Annual Review of Genetics; Volume 37, Page 31 - 66
      3. Pseudogenes: Are They "Junk" or Functional DNA? , Evgeniy S. Balakirev, Francisco J. Ayala, Annual Review of Genetics; Volume 37, Page 123 - 151
      4. Coding And Learning Of Behavioral Sequences , Ofer Melamed, Wulfram Gerstner, Wolfgang Maass, Misha Tsodyks, Henry Markram,, Trends in Neurosciences, (November 07, 2003), 10.1016/S0166-2236(03)00373-4. A major challenge to understanding behavior is how the nervous system allows the learning of behavioral sequences that can occur over arbitrary timescales, ranging from milliseconds up to seconds, using a fixed millisecond learning rule.
      5. Planet hunters target nearby star, Helen Briggs, BBC News Online. A little-known star about 42 light-years away is the top target for European astronomers searching for planets that might harbour life.
      6. Nonlinear Optics in Fibers, Linn F. Mollenauer, Science Nov 7 2003: 996-997
      7. Sewage Linked To Fish-Gender Quirks, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . Releases from sewage treatment plants appear to impair reproductive tissues in fish.
      8. Pollutants Shape Baby-Gator Gonads, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . The same pollutants that appear to shorten the length of a grown-alligator's phallus actually lead to this organ's lengthening in baby gators.
      9. Getting Back to Normal: Protein Enables The Liver To Regenerate Quickly, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . A protein called stem cell factor enables the liver to regenerate and may even protect people from acute liver failure.
      10. Hot and Heavy Star Birth: Young Cosmos Delivers Massive Stars, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . Aided by a gravitational zoom lens, astronomers have discovered the hottest, brightest, and most crowded star-forming region ever observed.
      11. Forgetting To Remember: Emotion Robs Memory While Reviving It, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . A common biological mechanism may boost memory for emotional events and block recall for what happened just before those events occurred, at least over the short run.
      12. The Shape of Space, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 19, 03/11/08, Also available in Audible format . The debate over the shape of space has taken some new twists with the analysis of satellite snapshots of the universe's temperature waves.
      13. 'Reversible' Computers More Energy Efficient, Faster, 03/10/31, AScribe
      14. Lessons from the Adventure in Iraq, Muqtedar Khan, 03/11/03, Brookings Views
      15. Misperceptions On the War, Michael O'Hanlon, 03/11/05, The Washington Times
      16. Emerging Viral Infections In A Rapidly Changing World , Thijs Kuiken, Ron Fouchier, Guus Rimmelzwaan, Albert Osterhaus, 03/11/07, Current Opinion in Biotechnology. Emerging viral infections in both humans and animals have been reported with increased frequency in recent years. Recent advances have been made in our knowledge of some of these, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus,(…)
      17. New C.I.A. Concerns on North Korean Weapons, David E. Sanger, 03/11/09, NYTimes. The Central Intelligence Agency has told Congress that it now believes that North Korea has mastered the technology of turning its nuclear fuel into functioning weapons, without having to prove their effectiveness through nuclear tests.
      18. Europe Exceeds U.S. in Refining Grid Computing, John Markoff, Jennifer L. Schenker, 03/11/10, NYTimes
      19. Why Do We Sleep?, Erica Goode, 03/11/11, NYTimes
      20. How Did Life Begin?, Nicholas Wade, 03/11/11, NYTimes
      21. Do Paranormal Phenomena Exist?, Kenneth Chang, 03/11/11, NYTimes
      22. Cheney Theme of Qaeda Ties to Iraq Bombings Are Questioned by Some, Eric Schmitt, 03/11/11, NYTimes
      23. Liquid Trust, Does a hormone let us known when others trust us?, Greg Miller, 03/11/11, Science Now
      24. Single Speaker Unit Creates Surround Sound , Will Knight, 03/11/12, New Scientist
      25. Plastic Memory Promises Cheap, Dense Storage, Celeste Biever, 03/11/13, New Scientist
      26. Research On ESL Children Has Surprising Results, Beth Potie, 03/11/13, Harvard University Gazette, GSE's Nonie Lesaux says non-native speaking kindergartners may read better
      27. Suddenly, the end game, Wayne Brown, 03/11/16, The Jamaica Observer. Quipped comedian Jay Leno recently: 'The United States is putting together a Constitution now for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It's served us well for 200 years, and we don't appear to be using it anymore, so what the hell?'
      28. The Immune Response Of Drosophila , Jules A. Hoffmann, 06 November 2003, Nature 426, 33 - 38 , DOI: 10.1038/nature02021
      29. The Hurdle-Race Problem, S. Vanduffe, J. Dhaene, M. Goovaertsa, R. Kaas, 2003/10/20, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, DOI: 10.1016/j.insmatheco.2003.08.008
      30. Ships And Movies, P. B. Andersen - pbaacs.auc.dk, 2003/10/23, Cognition, Technology & Work
      31. Should Opposites Attract? - Bird Success Depends On Personality, F. Rienks - f.rienksanioo.knaw.nl, 2003/11/07, Alphagalileo
      32. Let Your Enemy Do The Work: Within-Host Interactions Between Two Fungal Parasites Of Leaf-Cutting Ants, W. O. H. Hughes, J. J. Boomsma, 2003/11/10, Alphagalileo & Biology Letters
      33. Evolutionary Dynamics Of Escape From Biomedical Intervention, Y. Iwasa, F. Michor, M. A. Nowak, 2003/11/10, Alphagalileo & Proceedings B (Biological Sciences)
      34. Is Humanity Sustainable?, C. W. Fowler, L. Hobbs, 2003/11/10, Alphagalileo & Proceedings B (Biological Sciences)
      35. Maternal Effects And The Response To Selection In Red Squirrels, A. G. McAdam, S. Boutin, 2003/11/10, Alphagalileo & Proceedings B (Biological Sciences)
      36. Illinois Researchers Create World's Fastest Transistor - Again, 2003/11/10, ScienceDaily & University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
      37. New Studies Show Factors Responsible For Enhanced Response To Music, 2003/11/13, ScienceDaily & Society For Neuroscience
      38. General-Purpose Computation With Neural Networks: A Survey Of Complexity Theoretic Results, J. íma, P. Orponen, Dec. 2003, Neural Computation, DOI: 10.1162/089976603322518731
      39. Sharing The Mighty Mouse, Shepherd G. M., Oct. 2003, Neuroinformatics
      40. Informatics Center For Mouse Genomics: The Dissection Of Complex Traits Of The Nervous System, Rosen G.D., La Porte N.T., Diechtiareff B., Pung C.J., Nissanov J., Gustafson C., Bertrand L., Gefen S., Fan Y., Tretiak O.J., Manly K.F., Park M.R., Williams A.G., Connolly M.T., Capra J.A., Williams R.W., Oct. 2003, Neuroinformatics
      41. WebQTL: Web-Based Complex Trait Analysis, Wang J., Williams R. W., Manly K. F., Oct. 2003, Neuroinformatics
      42. How Parasites Divide Resources: A Test Of The Niche Apportionment Hypothesis, D. Mouillot, M. G.-Nascimento, Robert Poulin, Sep. 2003, Journal of Animal Ecology

    2. Webcast Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Presentation Webcasts from Scientific Sessions 2003, American Heart Association
      2. EVOLVABILITY & INTERACTION: Evolutionary Substrates of Communication, Signaling, and Perception in the Dynamics of Social Complexity, London, UK, 03/10/08-10
      3. The Semantic Web and Language Technology - Its Potential and Practicalities, Bucharest, Romania, 03/07/28-08/08
      4. ECAL 2003, 7th European Conference on Artificial Life, Dortmund, Germany, 03/09/14-17
      5. IMA International Conference Bifurcation 2003, Univ. Southampton, UK, 27-30 July, 2003
      6. New Santa Fe Institute President About His Vision for SFI's Future Role, (Video, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/04)
      7. SPIE's 1st Intl Symp on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 2003/06/01-04
      8. NAS Sackler Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, Video/Audio Report, 03/05/11
      9. Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable, The University of Texas Austin, Texas USA, 2003/04/10-12
      10. 13th Ann Intl Conf, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life Sciences, Boston, MA, USA, 2003/08/08-10
      11. CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
      12. Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998
      13. Edge Videos

    3. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Trends And Perspectives In Extensive And Non-Extensive Statistical Mechanics, In Honour Of The 60th Birthday Of Constantino Tsallis, Angra Dos Reis, Brazil, 2003/11/19-21
      2. ICDM '03: 3rd IEEE International Conference on Data Mining, Melbourne, Florida, USA, 03/11/19-22
      3. Images of the Sciences and Scientists in Visual Media, New York, NY, 03/11/21-22
      4. 4th Intl Conf on Systems Science and Systems Engineering, Hong Kong, 03/11/25-28
      5. 3rd International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex System, Guangzhou, China, 03/11/29-30
      6. Artificial Intelligence and Law, Special Issue on Electronic Democracy, Submissions Deadline: 03/11/30
      7. Plexusinstitute Organizational Management Conference With Ralph Stacey, Washington, DC, 03/12/02-04
      8. Learning with Everett Rogers and Ralph Stacey: Bridging the Quality Chasm Between Medical Knowledge and Clinical Practice, Rockville, MD, 03/12/02-03
      9. Learning with Ralph Stacey: On Thinking and Learning About Complex Responsive Processes, Rockville, MD, 03/12/03-04
      10. Intl Wkshp Networks of Interacting Machines: Industrial Production Systems and Biological Cells, Berlin, Germany, 03/12/11-13
      11. 2nd International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 03/12/15-17
      12. 2nd WSEAS Intl Conf on Non-linear Analysis, Non-linear Systems and Chaos, Athens, Greece, 03/12/29-31
      13. Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 04/01/05-09
      14. 2nd Biennial Seminar on the Philosophical, Epistemological, and Methodological Implications of Complexity Theory, Havana, Cuba, 04/01/07-10
      15. 2004 Western Simulation MultiConference (WMC'04), San Diego, CA., USA, 04/01/18-24)
      16. 1st International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced Information Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 04/01/29-30
      17. Leadership in Rapidly Changing Business Environments -Learning and Adapting in Time, Cambridge, MA, 04/02/26-27
      18. 4th Intl ICSC Symposium Engineering Of Intelligent Systems (EIS 2004), Island of Madeira, Portugal, 04/02/29-03/02
      19. Arbeitskreis Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme Jahrestagung (AKSOE), Regensburg, Germany, 04/03/08-12
      20. Capital Science 2004, Washington, 04/03/20-21
      21. Fractal 2004, "Complexity and Fractals in Nature", 8th Intl Multidisciplinary Conf, Vancouver, Canada, 04/04/04-07
      22. The 9th IEEE Intl Conf on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems, Florence, Italy, 04/04/14-16
      23. 2004 Advanced Simulation Technologies Conference (ASTC'04), Arlington, VA., USA, 04/04/18-22
      24. Urban Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, Manchester, UK, 04/04/29-30
      25. 5th International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA, USA, 04/05/16-21
      26. 3rd Intl Conf on Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004) "Transforming Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Success", Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 04/05/19-21
      27. 9th Annual Workshop on Economics and Heterogeneous Interaction Agents (WEHIA04),, Kyoto, Japan, 2004/05/27-29
      28. 13th International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious Diseases, Toulon, France, 04/06/03-05
      29. From Animals To Animats 8, 8th Intl Conf On The Simulation Of Adaptive Behavior (SAB'04), Los Angeles, USA, 04/07/13-17
      30. 8th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Orlando, Florida, USA, 04/07/18-21
      31. 2004 Summer Simulation MultiConference (SummerSim'04), San Jose Hyatt, San Jose, California, 04/07/25-29
      32. ANTS 2004, 4th International Workshop on Ant Colony Optimization and Swarm Intelligence, Brussels, Belgium, 04/09/05-08
      33. Dynamic Ontology, An Inquiry into Systems, Emergence, Levels of Reality, and Forms of Causality, Trento, Italy, 04/09/08-11
      34. 9th Intl Conf on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems (ALIFE9), Boston, Massachusetts, 04/09/12-15
      35. The 8th Intl Conf on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature (PPSN VIII), Birmingham, UK, 04/09/18-22
      36. XVII Brazilian Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Sao Luis, Maranhao - Brazil, 04/09/22-24

    4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test Bookmark and Share

      We are in the process of upgrading the Complexity Digest archives to a format with improved search capabilities. Also, we will finally be able to adequately publish the valuable feedback and comments from our knowledgable readers. You are cordially invited to become a beta tester of our new ComDig2 archive.

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