Dec. 15, 2003
Cave Colours Reveal Mental Leap, BBC News Online 
Excerpts: Ochre-stained rocks have been found in the cave
Red-stained bones dug up in a cave in Israel are prompting researchers to speculate that symbolic thought emerged much earlier than they had believed. (...)
"The red ochre meant something to them, exactly what we do not know, but it is not inconceivable that they painted their dead with red ochre," (...).
"It is an example of symbolic thought, the ochre symbolised death. The humans at this time behaved in a way that was not just functional but symbolic as well," (...).
Ochre-stained rocks have been found in the cave
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Spread of Decisions in the Corporate Board Network, arXiv
Abstract: Boards of large corporations sharing some of their directors are connected in complex networks. Boards are responsible for corporations' long-term strategy and are often involved in decisions about a common topic related to the belief in economical growth or recession.
We are interested in understanding under which conditions a large majority of boards making a same decision can emerge in the network. We present a model where board directors are engaged in a decision making dynamics based on "herd behavior". Boards influence each other through shared directors.
We find that imitation of colleagues and opinion bias due to the interlock do not trigger an avalanche of identical decisions over the board network, whereas the information about interlocked boards' decisions does. There is no need to invoke global public information, nor external driving forces.
This model provides a simple endogenous mechanism to explain the fact that boards of the largest corporations of a country can, in the span of a few months, take the same decisions about general topics.
Computational Intelligence in Economics and Finance: Carrying on the Legacy of Herbert Simon, Information Sciences
Abstract: This is an editorial guide for the special issue on computational intelligence (CI) in economics and finance. A historical introduction to the background is given. This research paradigm is traced back to Herbert Simon, who, as a founder of artificial intelligence, pioneered the applications of AI to economics. The move from the classical AI to CI indicates a continuation of the legacy of Herbert Simon. Computational intelligence has proved to be a constructive foundation for economics. In responding to what Herbert Simon referred as procedural rationality, our study of bounded rationality has been enriched by bringing autonomous agents into the economic analysis.
A Web-Based Investigation Of Human Market Interactions, Physica A
Abstract: The unprecedented access offered by the World Wide Web brings with it the potential to gather huge amounts of data on human activities. Here we exploit this by using a toy model of financial markets, the Minority Game, to investigate human speculative trading behaviour and information capacity. Hundreds of individuals have played a total of tens of thousands of game turns (...). In particular, our results indicate a transition in players' decision-making, as the markets become more difficult, between deductive behaviour making use of short-term trends in the market, and highly repetitive behaviour that ignores entirely the market history (...).
Learning More From Their Successes Than From Their Failures, Ecol. Modelling
Abstract: Learning occurs in all stages of a fishery, in the entire fishing career of a fisher, and even within a single fishing trip. It is an important aspect of fleet dynamics; failure to take it into proper account biases results of population dynamics studies and results of stock assessments. In this paper, I introduce and slightly generalise three learning models and derive a new one. I use them to analyse data on the short-term learning behaviour of all fishers as a group in the fishery (...) to demonstrate their utilities.
Executive Personality Traits And Eating Behavior, Int. J. Neurosc.
Abstract: Eating disorders (...) commonly involve a dysregulation of behavior (e.g., a lack or excess of inhibition and impulsive eating patterns) that is suggestive of prefrontal dysfunction. Functional neuro-imaging studies show that prefrontal-subcortical systems play a role in eating behavior and appetite in healthy individuals, and that people with eating disorders have altered activity in these systems. There was also a positive association with cognitive restraint of eating, suggesting that increased compensatory behaviors follow disinhibited eating. These psychometric findings reinforce those of other methodologies, supporting a role for prefrontal systems in eating.
Mother of All Marsupials, Science Now
Excerpts: Last year, the fossil beds of Liaoning Province, China, yielded the most primitive placental mammal ever found. Now comes another record-breaker: the most ancestral marsupial known, in such good shape that even some of the fur is preserved. (...) the mouse-sized fossil will provide a wealth of information on how the earliest marsupials evolved. (...).
At 125 million years, the new fossil--dubbed Sinodelphys szalayi--pushes back the record of marsupials by 15 million years. (Molecular data suggest that the group could be as old as 190 million years.)
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Abstract: It is a general scientific principle that structures of the same shape and material composition, but different size, cannot function in the same way. This applies to animals and plants, as well as man-made structures. However, mammals of a wide range of different sizes are able to move in the same way. We show that this is possible due to systematic changes or 'distortions' in shape that compensate for the constancy of musculoskeletal tissue properties. From the literature we identify the straight-legged posture of larger mammals as a distortion that allows mammals of different sizes to exhibit similar movement patterns.
Comparing Genomes Shows Split Between Chimps and People, NYTimes
Excerpts: By comparing the human genome with that of chimpanzees, people's closest living relative, scientists have identified a partial list of the genes that make people human.
They include genes for hearing and speech, genes that wire the developing brain, genes for detecting odors and genes that shape bone structure.(...)
Humans and chimps shared a joint ancestor as recently as five million years ago. (...) they would understand the genetic basis of how people differ from chimps and, hence, the essence of what makes humans human.
Genome Scan Shows Human-Chimp Differences, Natue Science update
Excerpts: The human and chimp genomes are about 99.2% identical. In the most important bits of the genome, this figure rises to 99.5%. Yet Cargill and her colleagues believe that they have seen the fingerprint of evolution in these small DNA differences.
The researchers compared the sequences for more than 7,500 human, chimpanzee and mouse genes, compiled by the genome projects for each species. Matching the two primates against the mouse revealed whether chimp or man has changed most from the ancestral starting point shared by the three mammals.
Humans, Chimps Wear Different Genes, Science Now
Excerpts: In both chimps and humans, many genes involved in cell signaling (...) have undergone major changes since the time of the species' last common ancestor 5 million years ago. But the genes didn't follow the same track in the two species, suggesting that they faced different pressures from natural selection. In humans, 27 of 48 olfactory proteins and three of 21 hearing proteins showed significant accelerated change, whereas that was not true in the chimp. In contrast, the chimp's genes for mesoderm development and skeletal structure had changed more.
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Abstract: Stem cells may be considered complex reactive systems because of their vast number in a living system, their reactive nature, and the influence of local environmental factors (such as the state of neighboring cells, tissue matrix, stem cell physiological processes) on their behavior. In such systems, emergent global behavior arises through the multitude of local interactions among the cell agents. Approaching hematopoietic and other stem cell lineages from this perspective have critical ramifications on current thinking relating to the plasticity of these lineage systems, the modeling of stem cell systems, and the interpretation of clinical data regarding many diseases within such models.
Developmental Reprogramming: Take A Cell, Any Cell, Nature
Excerpts: Can an adult human cell be turned back to an embryonic state without the need for cloning? If so, ethical objections to personalized regenerative medicine would be swept away. (...)
The treasure in this case is a cell that will resemble an embryonic stem (ES) cell, which can grow into any type of tissue. This cellular alchemy might one day provide the means to repair a failing body with grafts that are derived from the patient's own cells - and so won't be rejected by their immune system.
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Excerpts: Mouse sperm grown from stem cells have successfully fertilized eggs. Laboratory-grown human sperm could follow.
The achievement follows the production of fertile eggs from stem cells earlier this year. It could lead to alternative ways to help infertile couples conceive by in vitro fertilization. Such cells could, for instance, help parents who have genetic defects to give birth to normal children. (...)
The researchers used stem cells derived from male mouse embryos and grew them into hollow balls, rather like an early embryo.
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Excerpts: Stretching stem cells can influence whether they turn into fat or bone, say researchers. This might partly explain why exercise strengthens the skeleton.
The group studied mesenchymal stem cells. These dwell in bone marrow and can create new fat, cartilage, muscle and bone. The scientists perched single cells on one of two different growth-enhancing carpets: either squares that gave cells room to stretch out, or tiny dots that reined them in.
Stretched cells were more likely to become bone cells, the group found; huddled ones became fat.
Smurfing at the Leading Edge, Science
Excerpts: Establishing and maintaining cell polarity is essential for a wide range of biological processes. This is particularly evident during cell migration when the asymmetric distribution of protrusion forces at the front and the contraction-retraction forces at the rear drive cells forward. (...) A major question facing cell biologists is how the activity of these three small GTPases is localized within cells. (...) an alternative mechanism is revealed by Wang et al. (2) with their demonstration that during cell migration Rho GTPase activity is spatially restricted to the rear of the cell (...).
Cell Migration: Integrating Signals from Front to Back, Science
Excerpts: Cell migration is a highly integrated multistep process that orchestrates embryonic morphogenesis; contributes to tissue repair and regeneration; and drives disease progression in cancer, mental retardation, atherosclerosis, and arthritis. The migrating cell is highly polarized with complex regulatory pathways that spatially and temporally integrate its component processes. This review describes the mechanisms underlying the major steps of migration and the signaling pathways that regulate them, and outlines recent advances investigating the nature of polarity in migrating cells and the pathways that establish it.
Developmental Biology: Long-Range Signalling By Touch, Nature
Excerpts: One of the best-known mechanisms involves the production and release of signalling proteins, which convey instructions over long distances about how cells should behave and what they should become. Information can also be exchanged through the direct contact of cells with their immediate neighbours. Nerve cells are specialized for communicating over long distances by touch. (...) they can send longer-distance signals that are still mediated by direct contact. To do so, the cells grow finger-like protrusions called filopodia. (...) reveals a new tool by which tissues can be patterned during development.
Protein Of Life, Protein Of Death, The Scientist
Excerpts: Complex, multicellular organisms must finely regulate their inner environment to assure cells can thrive, but must also initiate apoptosis (programmed cell death) when necessary. Apoptosis is critical for normal development and tissue homeostasis, and aberrant apoptosis can lead to cancer and neural degeneration. In a PNAS article published online December 8, Jianhua Zhang and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine pinpoint an enzyme that plays an important role in both the regulation of normal apoptosis and embryogenesis in mammals (...).
Systems Biology: Tracing Life's Circuitry, Science
Excerpts: New technologies have inundated researchers with a deluge of information on genes, proteins, cellular dynamics, and organisms' responses to mutations and the environment. (...) Systems biologists are taking on that challenge, relying heavily on mathematics and statistics to integrate data into a more complete picture of how biological networks from cells to whole organisms function. They are building models and making predictions about how biological systems will behave; the ultimate goal is to understand deep mysteries--such as how cells divide, animals develop, plants flower, and humans breathe.
Microglia: The Enemy Within?, Science
Excerpts: Unlike most other structures in the adult brain, the hippocampus is able to produce new neurons (neurogenesis) throughout adult life as it contains a population of neural stem cells. It is believed that neurogenesis contributes to the primary task of the hippocampus, that of coordinating learning and memory. (...) in a rat model of brain inflammation, the ability of hippocampal neural stem cells to generate new neurons is severely reduced. Intriguingly, the authors were able to restore hippocampal neurogenesis by blocking inflammation with indomethacin, a common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Tiny Bubbles Are Implicated In Cancer And AIDS, Science News
Excerpts:  |
BUBBLING OUT.
Cancer cells may use such vesicles to expel the medication, thereby thwarting its therapeutic effect.
> Rosania |
(...) suggesting that tumors use exosomes to foil cancer drugs. And other scientists are now using exosomes given off by immune cells to battle cancer and infectious microbes.
"Exosomes are a device for transporting material from cell to cell. It's kind of a biological FedEx," (...)
Unless one knows what to look for, it's easy to miss exosomes. Until 20 years ago, the flattened spheres of lipid molecules, ranging from 50 to 200 nanometers in diameter, were dismissed as merely free-floating fragments of a cell's membrane.
New Farmers: Salt Marsh Snails Plow Leaves, Fertilize Fungus, Science News
Excerpts: A salt marsh snail works the leaves of a plant in what researchers say looks like a simple form of farming.
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SLASH AGRICULTURE. Leaf from a salt marsh shows snail farm: a fungus-infected cut adorned with droppings.
> Silliman |
The snail Littoraria irrorata saws long gashes down the narrow leaves of the dominant plants in East Coast salt marshes. It doesn't eat the fresh tissue but instead waits until fungus riddles the leaf wound, (...).
Previously, biologists had observed cultivation of edible fungus only in some beetles, termites, and ants (...). The snail behavior "seems to be the first time fungal farming has been found outside of insects-and the first time in a marine system," says Silliman. "Fungal farming may be more widespread than we thought."
Beetles Could Prove A Hit With The Aircraft Industry, ScienceDaily
Excerpts: A species of beetle, that squirts its predators with a high-pressure spray of boiling liquid, could provide the key to significant improvements in aircraft engine design. The bombardier beetle's unique natural combustion technique is being studied to see if it can be copied for use in the aircraft industry. Scientists studying the bombardier beetle's jet-based defence mechanism hope it will help to solve a problem that can occasionally occur at high altitude - re-igniting a gas turbine aircraft engine which has cut out, when the outside air temperature is as low as minus 50 degrees Centigrade!
Automated Analysis Of Bee Behavior May Yield Better Robots, ScienceDaily
Excerpts: A new computer vision system for automated analysis of animal movement - honey bee activities, in particular - is expected to accelerate animal behavior research, which also has implications for biologically inspired design of robots and computers. Social insects, such as ants and bees, represent the existence of successful large-scale, robust behavior forged from the interaction of many, simple individuals, Balch explained. Such behavior can offer ideas on how to organize a cooperating colony of robots capable of complex operations. To expedite the understanding of such behavior, Balch's team developed a computer vision system that automates analysis of animal movement (...).
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Excerpts: Astrobiologists disagree about whether advanced life is common or rare in our universe. But new research suggests that one thing is pretty certain - if an Earthlike world with significant water is needed for advanced life to evolve, there could be many candidates.
In 44 computer simulations of planet formation near a sun, astronomers found that each simulation produced one to four Earthlike planets, including 11 so-called "habitable" planets about the same distance from their stars as Earth is from our sun.
Earth's Waning Magnet, Science Now
Excerpts: Earth's magnetic field is rapidly getting weaker, and geophysicists don't know why. The decrease in strength--a startling 10% in the last 160 years--could signal that the magnetic field is starting one of its sporadic flip-flops. (...), Earth's atmosphere may sustain some damage, (...)
(...) field occasionally reverses: The north magnetic pole becomes the south, and vice versa. Before and during that transition, the strength of the field plunges. Today, the dipole is weakening so quickly that i
Modern Global Climate Change, Science
Excerpts: Modern climate change is dominated by human influences, which are now large enough to exceed the bounds of natural variability. (...) There is still considerable uncertainty about the rates of change that can be expected, but it is clear that these changes will be increasingly manifested in important and tangible ways, such as changes in extremes of temperature and precipitation, decreases in seasonal and perennial snow and ice extent, and sea level rise. (...) We are venturing into the unknown with climate, and its associated impacts could be quite disruptive.
Early Farmers Warmed Earth's Climate, NewScientist
Excerpts: After ruling out possible natural causes for the greenhouse gas increases, Ruddiman now thinks that early farmers clearing forests in Europe, India and China account for the surge of carbon dioxide, while rice paddies and burgeoning herds of livestock produced the extra methane. (...)
He estimates that over time this activity laced the atmosphere with about 40 parts per million of carbon dioxide and 250 parts per billion of methane, enough to produce nearly 0.8 °C of warming before 1700, around the dawn of industrialisation.
Greenhouse Gas 'Plan B' Gaining Support, NewScientist
Excerpts: And that is where the "convergence" part of C&C comes in. Industrialised nations have so far done most of the polluting. The US emits 25 times as much CO2 per head as India, for example, but if pollution is to be rationed, that cannot carry on. (...)
So under the C&C proposals, national emissions will converge year by year towards some agreed target based upon each country's population (...). In effect, by a target date (...) 2050, every citizen of the world should have an equal right to pollute.
Study Reveals Complex Changes In West Antarctic Ice Streams, ScienceDaily
Excerpts: An Ohio State University study has revealed a complex picture of change that is occurring in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Scientists here are calibrating data from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), and using the satellite to study the ice streams that carry ice from the interior of the WAIS out to sea. Early results of the study clearly show that all the ice streams of the WAIS have changed substantially in the last five years, but each in its own way (...).
Wings of Change, Shape-Shifting Aircraft, Science News
Excerpts: Not everyone is taking a full-wing approach to wing warping. Wing edges that can mold themselves into a variety of graceful curves and other deformations can also provide flight control while reducing drag. (...)
In a recent joint effort by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), AFRL, and NASA, engineers devised a spine-like structure that snakes along a wing's trailing edge. For the vertebra of that spine, researchers in the so-called Smart Wing Program used lightweight aluminum wedges. Each wedge could be independently extended or tilted using actuators. A stretchy silicone skin covered the spinal assembly.
Self-Assembled 'Nanorings' Could Boost Computer Memory, Purdue News
Excerpts:
Wei's research team has found a way to create tiny magnetic rings from particles made of cobalt. The rings are much less than 100 nanometers across - an important threshold for the size-conscious computer industry - and can store magnetic information at room temperature. Best of all, these "nanorings" form all on their own, a process commonly known as self-assembly.(...)
"The nanoparticles link up when they are brought close together. Normally you might expect these to form chains, but under the right conditions, the particles will assemble into rings instead."
UN Summit Pledges Net For All, BBC News Online
Excerpts: A UN summit designed to shrink the technology gap between rich and poor nations has ended with agreement on lofty principles, but no commitments to practical measures. (...)
Delegates from some 175 governments meeting in Geneva agreed on the need to take the net to the millions of people currently offline.
But there were no pledges for cash to bankroll technology-related projects, as some African countries had demanded.
Delegates said the summit did succeed in alerting world leaders to the importance of new technology as a tool for development.
Web Pioneer Opens Digital Divide Summit, BBC News Online
Excerpts:
The machine where it all started |
As world leaders meet to consider the future of the internet, the man who took it out of the lab and into the mainstream took centre-stage.
At an event to mark the opening of the UN technology summit in Geneva, Tim Berners-Lee was reunited with the machine he used to invent the web.
With UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at his side, he used the world's first web server to send an e-mail to more than 80 schools worldwide.
Biopolitics In The EU And The U.S.: A Race To The Bottom Or Convergence To The Top?, Int. Studies Qtrly.
Abstract: This paper examines the circumstances under which economic globalization has led (and not led) to a convergence in the regulation of agricultural biotechnology in the European Union (EU) and the United States. While the EU has taken a precautionary approach to regulating biotech products, the U.S. has decided that these products are no different from those made using more traditional methods. These varying regulatory responses pose an interesting puzzle (...). The paper then examines why the U.S. biotechnology policy mode recently has shown signs of gravitating toward the EU model, signifying a potential for convergence to the top.
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Excerpts: There is a sense of embarrassment about what has happened in American politics," (...) "The rules of decorum have fallen apart. Voters no longer choose members of the House; the people who draw the lines do. The court seems to think that something has to be done." The case could well become the court's most important foray into the political process since Bush v. Gore. As Ronald Klain, a Democratic lawyer in election-law cases, puts it, "At stake in this case is control of Congress-nothing more, nothing less."
Rigging Election Boundaries: When Does It Go Too Far?, Christian Science Monitor
Excerpts: The basic allegation in Pennsylvania is that gerrymandering undermines the concept of majority rule: Why should Republicans win 12 of 19 congressional seats, when 48 percent of the state's registered voters are Democrats and 42 percent are registered Republicans?
"It would be quixotic to attempt to bar state legislatures from considering politics as they redraw district lines," (...). "But when one political party guarantees itself a solid majority of seats, even if it wins only a minority of the votes, the Constitution must provide a remedy."
Time To Draw The Line, NYTimes
Excerpts: (...) gerrymandering can violate the Equal Protection Clause. (...) In the nearly two decades since, the equal-protection problems raised by partisan gerrymandering have increased because of the growing partisanship of the line drawers, and the sophistication of the computers they use. (...)
As the Supreme Court recognized in its one-person, one-vote line of cases, the interests of the voters in a fair and democratic process must be paramount. The American promise of democracy will be hollow if the House of Representatives virtually ceases to have contested elections.
Russia: Voters Profess Little Or No Interest In Upcoming Duma Polls, Radio Free Europe
Excerpts: Widespread reporting by Russian newspapers of political parties allegedly "selling" coveted spots on their candidate lists to rich businessmen has furthered the perception that the process is tainted and to a large extent predetermined, reinforcing the feeling among average voters that they have little chance to influence the outcome on 7 December.
Piontkovsky says many people recall Josef Stalin's cynical comment of some 70 years ago in this regard: "Stalin said, as you remember: 'It's not important how they vote. The important thing is how we count the votes.'"
Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
Efforts to Fight Terror Financing Reported to Lag, NYTimes
Excerpts: The campaign to cut off terrorist financing has seen some high-profile successes and arrests in recent months, and investigators are continuing to delve into a complex network of Islamic charities and organizations in Northern Virginia that they say may have funneled money to terrorist groups. (...)
But the efforts to trace terrorist financing have been marred at times by turf wars between agencies and occasional conflicts in mission. (...)
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (...) felt stymied as investigators have either been let go or reassigned to other agencies.
German Judge Frees Qaeda Suspect; Cites U.S. Secrecy, Desmond Butler, NYTimes
Excerpts: The United States' refusal to allow testimony from a jailed Qaeda figure prompted a Hamburg judge on Thursday to order the release of a Moroccan accused of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers. (...)
The judge acted after reviewing new evidence that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, (...), told American interrogators that only he and the three suicide pilots from the Hamburg cell knew about the attacks before they happened. The judge said that while he had strong doubts about the reliability of the evidence, he could not properly evaluate it without testimony (...).
Links & Snippets
Other Publications
- Marines Plan to Use Velvet Glove More Than Iron Fist in Iraq, Michael R. Gordon, NY Times. U.S. Marines headed to Iraq this spring say they intend to avoid the get-tough tactics that have been used by Army units.
- Cutting James Baker's Ties, NY Times. If James Baker III is going to deal with the crucial problem of restructuring Iraq's official debts, he needs to sever his ties to firms doing work related to Iraq.
- A Deliberate Debacle, Paul Krugman, NY Times. The Bush administration's hard-liners are deliberately sabotaging reconciliation between America and its allies.
- NetLogo 2.0 Released! , NetLogo is a cross-platform agent-based parallel modeling and simulation environment from CCL (the people who brought you StarLogoT).
- Bad News for Eggnog Lovers , Science Now. Moderate tippling doesn't fend off stroke--and may shrink the brain
- Stem Cells Allow Infertile Males To Be Fathers, New Scientist. For the first time, infertile mice have fathered live pups after transplants of frozen sperm stem cells - the work could one day help infertile men
- British Warning on Antidepressant Use for Youth, Erica Goode, NY Times. Drug regulators recommended against the use of antidepressants in the treatment of depressed children under 18.
- SUVs Double Pedestrians' Risk Of Death, New Scientist. Someone struck by a large sports utility vehicle is more than twice as likely to die as someone hit by a saloon car, a new study finds
- Diamond Model Reveals New Sparkle, New Scientist. A simulation of the complex way that the gems scatter light can predict how unconventional designs will look, without risking real stones
- New Antibody Delivers A Double Blow, New Scientist. A single drug could now mount a two-pronged assault on diseases such as cancer, thanks to a breakthrough in molecular engineering
- Humans And Computers Compete In Virtual Creature Game, New Scientist. The online game lets contestants create and race virtual beasts - it can also compare different artificial intelligence approaches
- The 536 solutions for the world's oldest puzzle, the loculus of Archimedes, are given in this Mathematica notebook...
- "Chaos & Life, Complexity and Order in Evolution and Thought", R J Bird, 03/11, Columbia University Press
- Jokes Activate Same Brain Region As Cocaine, HELEN PEARSON, 03/12/04, Nature Science Update. Humour tickles drug centre that gives hedonistic high
- Emergence Of A Molecular Bose-Einstein Condensate From A Fermi Gas, Markus Greiner - markus.greiner
colorado.edu, Cindy A. Regal, Deborah S. Jin, 03/12/04, Nature 426, 537 - 540, DOI: 10.1038/nature02199 - Solar Flip-Flops: Sun Storms Spawn Magnetic Reversal, 03/12/06, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 23, see also(Audible format ). Coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of charged particles blasted from the sun, appear to play a key role in reversing the sun's magnetic poles every 11 years.
- Cloud Chemistry: Atmospheric Scientists Dissect Cirrus Clouds, 03/12/06, Science News, Week of Dec. 6, 2003; Vol. 164, No. 23. see also(Audible format) . Cirrus cloud formation is influenced by the particles in the atmosphere, including pollutants.
- Seek and Destroy: Virus Attacks Cancer, Spares Normal Cells, 03/12/06, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 23, see also(Audible format ). A virus carried by mosquitoes naturally homes in on cancer cells and destroys them.
- Doppler Toppler: Experiment Upends Normal Frequency Shift, 03/12/06, Science News, Vol. 164, No. 23, see also(Audible format ). The expected drop in frequency of a signal from a receding sourceóthe Doppler effectóbecomes a frequency increase when a high-current electric pulse creates extraordinary electromagnetic conditions in a web of electrical components.
- Engineered Pig Organs Survive In Monkeys, Helen Pearson, 03/12/08, Nature Science Update, Humanised kidneys appear to thwart first round of rejection.
- Light 'Frozen' In Its Tracks , 03/12/10, NewScientist.com, This is then "frozen" with the help of two control beams. The light in the control beams interacts with the rubidium atoms to create layers that alternately transmit and reflect the pulse.
- Egyptians Went With the Flow, Katie Greene, 03/12/11, Science Now. Satellite images suggest that drought forced ancient settlements to follow the water
- Bidding for Isolation, 03/12/11, NYTimes. Barring countries from reconstruction contracts in Iraq has abruptly reversed the rising trend of international cooperation.
- Breaking and Entering, Thomas L. Friedman, 03/12/11, NYTimes. So far, the biggest political fallout from the Iraq war has not been in the Arab world. It's been in Israel.
- George Marshall's World, and Ours, Andrew J. Goodpaster, 03/12/11, NYTimes. Our leaders should learn from the legacy of Gen. George C. Marshall and shift from occupation to collaboration.
- U.S. Sees Evidence of Overcharging in Iraq Contract, Douglas Jehl, 03/12/12, NYTimes. A Pentagon investigation found that a Halliburton subsidiary overcharged for fuel. The company defended its actions.
- Bush Defends Barring Nations From Iraq Deals, Elisabeth Bumiller, 03/12/12, NYTimes. President Bush said James A. Baker III would still meet with several nations to ask that they forgive debts owed by Iraq.
- Nibbling Away at DNA, Jennifer Couzin, 13/12/08, Science Now, Enzymes that chew up chromosome tips may contribute to cancer
- Faults May Gang Up On L.A., Robert Irion, 13/12/08, Science Now. A large quake on the San Jacinto fault might incite nearby faults
- Scientists Make Sperm in a Dish, Gretchen Vogel, 13/12/10, Science Now, Sperm derived from stem cells fertilize oocytes for the first time
- Partiality in Physics, Bob Coecke, Keye Martin, 2003-12-04, arXiv, DOI: quant-ph/0312044
- Efficiency Through Disinformation, Richard Metzler, Mark Klein, Yaneer Bar-Yam, 2003-12-10, arXiv, DOI: cond-mat/0312266
- Cognitive Paradigms: Which One Is the Best?, Carlos Gershenson, 2003-12-2, Cognitive Systems Research, Article in Press, Corrected Proof, DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2003.10.002
- Dynamics of Rumor Spreading in Complex Networks, Yamir Moreno, Maziar Nekovee, Amalio. F. Pacheco, 2003-12-4, arXiv, DOI: cond-mat/0312131
- Dynamic Receptor Team Formation Can Explain the High Signal Transduction Gain in E. coli, Reka Albert, Yu-wen Chiu, Hans G. Othmer, 2003-12-8, arXiv, DOI: q-bio.MN/0312012
- State-Space Models For The Dynamics Of Wild Animal Populations, S. T. Buckland - stevemcs.st-and.ac.uk, K. B. Newman, L. Thomas, N. B. Koesters, 2003/10/10, Ecological Modelling, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2003.08.002
- Finding Favorites, F. Chung, R. Graham, J. Mao, A. Yao - yaocs.princeton.edu, 2003/10/23, Electronic Colloquium on Computational Complexity
- Bottom-Up And Top-Down Effects In Food Chains Depend On Functional Dependence: An Explicit Framework, R. A. Herendeen - herendeeuiuc.edu, 2003/11/21, Ecological Modelling, DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3800(03)00273-4
- Evolution Of Cannibalism: Referring To Costs Of Cannibalism, K. Nishimura - kinyafish.hokudai.ac.jp, Y. Isoda, 2003/11/26, Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.09.007
- Dynamical Regimes Underlying Epileptiform Events: Role Of Instabilities And Bifurcations In Brain Activity, J. L. P. Velazquez - jlpvsickkids.ca, M. A. Cortez, O. C. Snead, III, R. Wennberg, 2003/12/05, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, DOI: 10.1016/j.physd.2003.07.002
- Tipsy Punters: Sauropod Dinosaur Pneumaticity, Buoyancy And Aquatic Habits, D. M. Henderson, 2003/12/08, Alphagalileo & Biology Letters
- Adaptive Variation In Senescence: Reproductive Life Span In A Wild Salmon Population, A. P. Hendry, Y. E. Morbey, O. K. Berg, J. K. Wenburg, 2003/12/08, Alphagalileo & Proceedings Biological Sciences
- Genetic Similarity And Hatching Success In Birds, C. Spottiswoode, A. P. Møller, 2003/12/08, Alphagalileo & Proceedings Biological Sciences
- Abandoned Penguin Colonies May Help Refine Antarctic Climate Studies, 2003/12/09, ScienceDaily & National Science Foundation
- Did Crohn's Disease Evolve With The Advent Of Refrigerators?, R. Lane - richard.lanelancet.com, 2003/12/10, Alphagalileo & The Lancet
- History Of Frog Deformities Suggests Emerging Disease, 2003/12/10, ScienceDaily & Univ. Of Wisconsin-Madison
- The Nexus Of Market Society, Liberal Preferences, And Democratic Peace: Interdisciplinary Theory And Evidence, Mousseau M., Dec. 2003, International Studies Quarterly, DOI: 10.1046/j.0020-8833.2003.00276.x
- On The Log-Normal Distribution Of Stock Market Data, I. Antoniou - iantoniovub.ac.be, Vi. V. Ivanov, Va. V. Ivanov, P. V. Zrelov, online 2003/10/08, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2003.09.034
- Stochastic Resonance And Noise Delayed Extinction In A Model Of Two Competing Species, D. Valenti - valentidgip.dft.unipa.it, A. Fiasconaro, B. Spagnolo, online 2003/10/10, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2003.09.036
Webcast Announcements
- Presentation Webcasts from Scientific Sessions 2003,
American Heart Association
- EVOLVABILITY & INTERACTION: Evolutionary Substrates of
Communication, Signaling, and Perception in the Dynamics of Social
Complexity, London, UK, 03/10/08-10
- The Semantic Web
and Language Technology - Its Potential and Practicalities,
Bucharest, Romania, 03/07/28-08/08
- ECAL 2003, 7th
European Conference on Artificial Life, Dortmund, Germany,
03/09/14-17
- IMA International
Conference Bifurcation 2003, Univ. Southampton, UK, 27-30 July,
2003
- New Santa
Fe Institute President About His Vision for SFI's Future Role,
(Video, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/04)
- SPIE's 1st Intl Symp
on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 2003/06/01-04
- NAS Sackler
Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, Video/Audio Report,
03/05/11
- Uncertainty and
Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable,
The University of Texas Austin, Texas USA, 2003/04/10-12
- 13th Ann Intl Conf,
Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life Sciences, Boston, MA, USA,
2003/08/08-10
- CERN
Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and
Live Events
- Dean
LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since
February 1998
- Edge Videos
Conference & Call for Papers Announcements
- The
American Society for Cell Biology 43rd Annual Meeting, San
Francisco, 03/12/13-17
- 2nd
International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social
Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA;
03/12/15-17
- 2nd
WSEAS Intl Conf on Non-linear Analysis, Non-linear Systems
and Chaos, Athens, Greece, 03/12/29-31
- Complex
Physical, Biological and Social Systems, MIT, Cambridge,
MA, 04/01/05-09
- 2nd
Biennial Seminar on the Philosophical, Epistemological, and
Methodological Implications of Complexity Theory, Havana,
Cuba, 04/01/07-10
- 2004
Western Simulation MultiConference (WMC'04), San Diego,
CA., USA, 04/01/18-24
- The
Mathematica Gulf Conference, Muscat, Oman, 04/01/26
- 1st
International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to
Advanced Information Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland,
04/01/29-30
- Physics
of Socio-Economic Systems, 1st Intl Winter School
2004, Konstanz, Germany, 04/02/16-20
- Advances
in Molecular Electronics: From molecular materials to single
molecule devices, Dresden, Germany, 04/02/23
- Leadership in
Rapidly Changing Business Environments -Learning and Adapting in
Time, Cambridge, MA, 04/02/26-27
- 4th
Intl ICSC Symposium Engineering Of Intelligent Systems (EIS
2004), Island of Madeira, Portugal, 04/02/29-03/02
- Conference
on Longevity , Sydney, Australia, 04/03/05-07
- Arbeitskreis
Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme Jahrestagung
(AKSOE), Regensburg, Germany, 04/03/08-12
- Capital
Science 2004, Washington, 04/03/20-21
- Fractal 2004,
"Complexity and Fractals in Nature", 8th Intl
Multidisciplinary Conf, Vancouver, Canada, 04/04/04-07
- The
9th IEEE Intl Conf on Engineering of Complex Computer
Systems, Florence, Italy, 04/04/14-16
- 2004
Advanced Simulation Technologies Conference (ASTC'04),
Arlington, VA., USA, 04/04/18-22
- NKS
(New Kind of Science) 2004 Conference and Minicourse,
Boston, Massachusetts, 04/04/22-25
- Urban
Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences
of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, Manchester, UK,
04/04/29-30
- 5th
International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004),
Boston, MA, USA, 04/05/16-21
- 3rd Intl Conf on
Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004) "Transforming
Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Success",
Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 04/05/19-21
- 9th
Annual Workshop on Economics and Heterogeneous Interaction Agents
(WEHIA04),, Kyoto, Japan, 2004/05/27-29
- 13th
International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious
Diseases, Toulon, France, 04/06/03-05
- ECC8
Experimental Chaos Conference, Florence, Italy,
04/06/14-17
- From Animals To Animats
8, 8th Intl Conf On The Simulation Of Adaptive Behavior
(SAB'04), Los Angeles, USA, 04/07/13-17
- 8th
World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and
Informatics, Orlando, Florida, USA, 04/07/18-21
- 2004
Summer Simulation MultiConference (SummerSim'04), San Jose
Hyatt, San Jose, California, 04/07/25-29
- 6th
International Mathematica Symposium (IMS 2004), Banff,
Canada, 04/08/02-06
- ANTS
2004, 4th International Workshop on Ant Colony
Optimization and Swarm Intelligence, Brussels, Belgium,
04/09/05-08
- Dynamic
Ontology, An Inquiry into Systems, Emergence, Levels of Reality,
and Forms of Causality, Trento, Italy,
04/09/08-11
- 9th
Intl Conf on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems
(ALIFE9), Boston, Massachusetts, 04/09/12-15
- The
8th Intl Conf on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature
(PPSN VIII), Birmingham, UK, 04/09/18-22
- XVII Brazilian
Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Sao Luis, Maranhao -
Brazil, 04/09/22-24
- Wolfram
Technology Conference, Champaign, Illinois,
04/10/21-23
ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test
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