Complexity Digest 2004.16 20-April-2004 Archive: http://comdig.unam.mx "I think the next century will be the century of complexity." Stephen Hawking, 2000 _________________________________________________________________ On 01-May-2004 Complexity Digest will co-sponsor a panel discussion with leading scientists on cultural factors affecting impact of science in Taiwan.(http://www.comdig2.de/conf/ntsec04) _________________________________________________________________ 01. The Search Engine Wars, NPR 01.01. Old School Search, NPR 01.02. The Breakthrough, NPR 01.03. What's Next?, NPR 02. Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology, InformationWeek 02.01. Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind, Blog of Collective Intelligence 03. Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour?, Nature 03.01. Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation, Nature 03.02. Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite Populations, Nature 04. Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth, Euro. J. Poli. Econ. 04.01. Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach, Euro. J. Poli. Econ. 05. Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave, Nature 05.01. Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art, Science Now 06. Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones, NY Times 07. Googling The Genome, The Guardian 08. For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start, NY Times 08.01. Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys, Nature Science update 09. The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions, Brain & Cognition 09.01. Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks, arXiv 09.02. A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic Neurons, Info. Sc. 09.03. Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate Frontal Cortex, Science 09.04. The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing, Biol. Rev. 10. Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles, Science 10.01. The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations, Science 10.02. Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree, ScienceDaily 10.03. Male-Female Conflict: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects And Spiders, Biol. Rev. 11. Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation, arXiv 12. Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe, NewScientist 13. Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons, BBC News 14. UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5', SpaceDaily 14.01. Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Niño, Natue Science update 15. Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition, Science 16. Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Internet-First University Press 17. An Error Catastrophe in Cancer?, Journal of Theoretical Biology 18. New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis', Science Now 18.01. Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart, Science 19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks 19.01. 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective, NY Times 19.02. Why Didn't We Stop 9/11?, NY Times 19.03. Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential Power, NY Times 20. Links & Snippets 20.01. Other Publications 20.02. Webcast Announcements 20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements _________________________________________________________________ 01. The Search Engine Wars , NPR Excerpts: Companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are battling to be the main gateway to the Internet. These companies have gained unprecedented influence over what people see and learn, and have created an industry with brave new rules for business. In a five-part series, NPR's Rick Karr takes a look at the business of search engines. * The Search Engine Wars, Rick Karr, , , 04/04/12, NPR, Morning Edition _________________________________________________________________ 01.01. Old School Search , NPR Excerpts: Search technology, once relegated to library science departments and remote corners of computer science labs, went mainstream with the Internet, spawning such once-giant brands as Lycos, AltaVista and Yahoo. These engines proved that the Web could be indexed, but they failed when it came to giving users what they wanted. * Old School Search, Rick Karr , 04/04/12, NPR, Morning Edition _________________________________________________________________ 01.02. The Breakthrough , NPR Excerpts: Stanford students Sergey Brin and Larry Page figured out how to use the structure of the Internet -- the way pages link to one another -- to put the most relevant items at the top of a search list. Ultimately, this set the standard, and gave their firm, Google, a massive lead in the industry. * The Breakthrough, Rick Karr , 04/04/13, NPR, Morning Edition _________________________________________________________________ 01.03. What's Next? , NPR Excerpts: Search engines may soon use personal information to return better search results. Google's plan to offer an e-mail service that delivers ads based on e-mail keywords has privacy watchdogs nervous. * What's Next?, Rick Karr , 04/04/16, NPR, Morning Edition _________________________________________________________________ 02. Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology , InformationWeek Excerpts: The metaphor comes from bees, and the fact that any bee in the hive can be called on to do any job. Tsunami Research Inc. (...), which develops and markets hive-computing technology, was started by folks who previously developed a proprietary payment-processing system. Like grid computing, hive computing leverages a collection of commodity hardware. Unlike grid computing, hive is meant for business- style applications, such as transaction processing and database access. Tsunami boldly claims its technology can lower acquisition costs by 90% and software development and maintenance costs by 50%. * Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology, John Soat , 04/04/12, InformationWeek _________________________________________________________________ 02.01. Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind , Blog of Collective Intelligence Excerpts: I’ve just discovered in an interview that Seth Kahan made with John Seely Brown a very intriguing and fertile perspective on the role blogs may play in the emergence of a conscious social mind. (...) ”Notice, also, that blogs can suddenly reach a critical mass that then forces something out into the open, into public consciousness. You might think of it as an analogy to the subconscious vs. the conscious. The formal or conscious part is what today’s journalism is about, New York Times and so on. But the informal layer, comprising things like blogs, is like our unconscious mind. It’s not publicly visible. But all kinds of things are happening there.” “Things get linked together and suddenly there can be enough links (creating a dense mesh of intertextual links) that the underlying ‘idea’ breaks through to public consciousness. ” * Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind, George Por , 04/04/11, Blog of Collective Intelligence _________________________________________________________________ 03. Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour? , Nature Excerpts: What gives cooperation an evolutionary edge? Two features of a population — spatial structure and finite size — are factors in the success of any strategy, although more subtle than we thought. In thinking about the evolution of cooperative behaviour1, there is one main stumbling block: that cooperative individuals can be exploited by 'defectors', who benefit from cooperation while avoiding the costs that it entails. Solutions to this problem typically find ways for cooperative individuals to interact with one another more often than they would purely by chance. * Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour?, Peter D. Taylor , Troy Day , 04/04/08, DOI: doi:10.1038/428611a, Nature 428, 611 - 612 _________________________________________________________________ 03.01. Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation , Nature Excerpts: Understanding the emergence of cooperation is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary game theory has become a powerful framework with which to investigate this problem. (...) In unstructured snowdrift games, intermediate levels of cooperation persist. Unexpectedly, spatial structure reduces the proportion of cooperators for a wide range of parameters. In particular, spatial structure eliminates cooperation if the cost-to-benefit ratio of cooperation is high. Our results caution against the common belief that spatial structure is necessarily beneficial for cooperative behaviour. * Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation, Christoph Hauert , Michael Doebeli _________________________________________________________________ 03.02. Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite Populations , Nature Excerpts: In general, defectors are stable against invasion by cooperators. This understanding is based on traditional concepts of evolutionary stability and dynamics in infinite populations. Here we study evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations. We show that a single cooperator using a strategy like 'tit-for-tat' can invade a population of defectors with a probability that corresponds to a net selective advantage. We specify the conditions required for natural selection to favour the emergence of cooperation and define evolutionary stability in finite populations. * Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite Populations, Martin A. Nowak , Akira Sasaki , Christine Taylor , Drew Fudenberg , DOI: 10.1038/nature02414, Nature _________________________________________________________________ 04. Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth , Euro. J. Poli. Econ. Abstract: We set out an infinite-horizon political economy model with partisan and office motivation effects in an endogenous growth context to demonstrate that the existence of political uncertainty regarding re-election tends to reduce the amount of public investment by incumbent governments and underlies a switch from government investment to government consumption, thereby reducing growth. The political equilibrium is inefficient and so does not maximise social welfare. Using panel data regressions we show, for OECD countries, that there is empirical support for the hypothesis that political uncertainty tends to reduce public investment, and that there are partisan effects in public investment decisions. * Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth, J. Darby , C.-W. Li , V. A. Muscatelli v.a.muscatelli@socsci.gla.ac.uk , online 2004/02/20 European Journal of Political Economy, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.01.001 * Contributed by Pritha Das - prithadas01yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ 04.01. Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach , Euro. J. Poli. Econ. Abstract: It has been claimed that people often prefer equity-like considerations and tend to ignore strategic aspects in fair division problems. Here, this is explored by analysing whether or not such a behavioural disposition is evolutionarily stable. The answer, however, is ambiguous: Both, reacting to and neglecting strategic aspects can be evolutionarily stable strategies when power discrepancies are minor. Equity, in particular, is restricted to situations where structural asymmetries are subtle. * Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach, W. Güth , K. Pull pull@iaaeg.de , online 2004/02/20 European Journal of Political Economy, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.10.003 * Contributed by Pritha Das - prithadas01yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ 05. Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave , Nature Excerpts: Traces of red ochre on the beads may have come from paint or clothes. © C. Henshilwood Anatomically modern humans are thought to have lived in Africa from at least 160,000 years ago. But there is much debate about when they acquired language and other aspects of modern culture. The new finding strengthens the idea that at least some groups in Africa had developed such a culture by the middle Stone Age. They probably used language in order to explain the meaning of their bracelets and charms, (...) Most were found in a layer of sand that has been accurately dated to around 75,000 years old. * Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave, Helen Pearson , 04/04/16, Nature _________________________________________________________________ 05.01. Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art , Science Now Excerpts: (...) humans were well on their way to complex, symbolic thinking by 75,000 years ago--long before the "creative explosion" of painting and jewelry began 40,000 years ago in Europe.(...) “(...) trail of representational objects that is increasingly older as we move back [from Europe] into Africa." (...) record of earlier artistic objects from Africa as evidence that modern behavioral traits, such as the use of external symbols, developed gradually over a couple of hundred thousand years, not suddenly after our ancestors emerged from Africa, (...). * Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art, Constance Holden , 04/04/15, Science Now _________________________________________________________________ 06. Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones , NY Times Excerpts: "Firstly, they haven't launched clamshell products, which came to Asia one and a half years ago. And second, they haven't launched products with good color screens and cameras." By contrast, Samsung has been "focusing on high-end products," (...), while "Nokia has been focusing too much on the low end," and on emerging economies rather than richer markets like the United States. In a television interview, Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chief executive, said, "There were some changes in the products of our competitors, and we were not as swift in moving." * Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones, Alan Cowell , 04/04/17, NYTimes _________________________________________________________________ 07. Googling The Genome , The Guardian Excerpts: In fact, the personal genome is a kind of total health checkup - one that includes all possible genetic diseases, known and unknown. The result of every test available - for susceptibilities to various cancers, for example - would be revealed after a little genomic googling on your home computer. As new genetic tests are devised, the results could be read off from your digital code without the need for further medical examinations. The ready availability of results for every genetic test, present and future, is a mixed blessing. * Googling The Genome, Glyn Moody , 04/04/15, The Guardian _________________________________________________________________ 08. For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start , NY Times Excerpts: The No Child Left Behind law has kicked off one of the nation's largest experiments in educational capitalism by inviting private companies and other groups to offer tutoring in failing public schools and financing the effort with federal money previously spent on the schools themselves. The aim is to help struggling children perform in their regular classrooms, while invigorating public education with private competition. (...) 1,000 companies rushing to recruit armies of tutors and grab chunks of what experts say could be a $2 billion-plus tutoring market. * For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start, Sam Dillon , 04/04/16, NYTimes _________________________________________________________________ 08.01. Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys , Nature Science update Excerpts: Food for thought: clever chimps get the best snacks. © Alamy.com Young female chimpanzees are better students than males, at least when it comes to catching termites, according to a study of wild chimps in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. While daughters watch their mothers closely, the boys spend more time monkeying around. (...) The difference is down to greater attentiveness on the females' part, the authors say. Females spent more time watching their mothers and their technique resembled their mother's more closely, even in the depths to which they inserted the stick. Editor's Note: This seems to be consistent with the observation that most of the great discoveries have been made by boys. * Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys, Michael Hopkin , 04/04/15, Nature Science update _________________________________________________________________ 09. The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions , Brain & Cognition Abstract: The present investigation was aimed to the study of the three attentional networks (Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Function) and their interactions. The alerting network seemed to inhibit the executive function network. The orienting network influenced the executive function network in a positive way. Finally, alertness increased orienting. This last result, taken together with previous findings, points to an influence in the sense of a faster orienting under alertness, rather than a larger one. These results offer new insight into the functioning of the attentional system. * The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions, A. Callejas callejas@ugr.es , J. Lupiáñez jlupiane@ugr.es , P. Tudela tudela@ugr.es , Online 2004/03/11, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2004.02.012, Brain and Cognition * Contributed by Atin Das - dasatinyahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 09.01. Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks , arXiv Abstract: We investigate the properties of the spanning trees of various real-world and model networks. The spanning tree representing the communication kernel of the original network is determined by maximizing total weight of edges, whose weights are given by the edge betweenness centralities. We find that a scale-free tree and shortcuts organize a complex network. The spanning tree shows robust betweenness centrality distribution that was observed in scale-free tree models. It turns out that the shortcut distribution characterizes the properties of original network, such as the clustering coefficient and the classification of networks by the betweenness centrality distribution. * Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks, Dong-Hee Kim , Jae Dong Noh , Hawoong Jeong , 2004-03-30, DOI: cond-mat/0403719, arXiv _________________________________________________________________ 09.02. A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic Neurons , Info. Sc. Abstract: This paper describes an original neural simulation platform designed as a tool for computational neuroscience. The system, based on artificial electronic neurons implemented in specific integrated circuits, computes in real-time and emulates in analogue mode the electrical activity of single neurons or small neural networks. Neurons are modelled using a biologically realistic description of membrane excitability and synaptic connectivity. The characteristics of the simulator are discussed and simulation examples are presented, including the implementation of "hybrid networks", where living neurons and artificial one are interacting in real-time in a mixed neural network. * A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic Neurons, S. R.-Le Masson renaud@enseirb.fr , G. Le Masson gwendal.lemasson@bordeaux.inserm.fr , L. Alvado , S. Saïghi , J. Tomas , May. 2004, DOI: 10.1016/j.ins.2003.03.007, Information Sciences * Contributed by Pritha Das - prithadas01yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ 09.03. Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate Frontal Cortex , Science Excerpts: In several areas of the macaque brain, neurons fire during delayed-response tasks at a rate determined by the value of the reward expected at the end of the trial. The activity of these neurons might be related to the value of the expected reward or to the degree of motivation induced by expectation of the reward. We describe results indicating that the nature of reward-dependent activity varies across areas. Neuronal activity in orbitofrontal cortex represents the value of the expected reward, whereas neuronal activity in premotor cortex reflects the degree of motivation. * Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate Frontal Cortex, Matthew R. Roesch , Carl R. Olson , 04/04/09, Science : 307-310. _________________________________________________________________ 09.04. The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing , Biol. Rev. Abstract: The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is the principal component of the mammalian biological clock, the neural timing system that generates and coordinates a broad spectrum of physiological, endocrine and behavioural circadian rhythms. The pacemaker of the SCN oscillates with a near 24 h period and is entrained to the diurnal light-dark cycle. (...) SCN is the locus of the brain's endogenous calendar, enabling organisms to anticipate seasonal environmental changes. The present review focuses on the neuronal organization and dynamic properties of the biological clock and the means by which it is synchronized with the environmental lighting conditions. * The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing, M. A. Hofman M.Hofman@nih.knaw.nl , Feb. 2004, DOI: 10.1017/S1464793103006250, Biological Reviews * Contributed by Atin Das - dasatinyahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 10. Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles , Science Excerpts: The acquisitions of mitochondria and plastids were important events in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, supplying it with compartmentalized bioenergetic and biosynthetic factories. Ancient invasions by eubacteria through symbiosis more than a billion years ago initiated these processes. (...) In losing their autonomy, endosymbionts lost the bulk of their genomes, (...). In the process, symbionts acquired many host-derived properties, lost much of their eubacterial identity, and were transformed into extraordinarily diverse organelles that reveal complex histories that we are only beginning to decipher. * Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles, Sabrina D. Dyall , Mark T. Brown , Patricia J. Johnson , 04/04/09, Science : 253-257 _________________________________________________________________ 10.01. The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations , Science Excerpts: Genetic studies are decoding the language plants and microbes use to negotiate the symbioses that help feed the world Bacterial or fungal invasions do not always cause disease. Some invasions--for instance, when microbes break into the cells of plant roots--are decidedly beneficial. By providing essential nutrients, the microbes help both their host plants and the world's agricultural systems. In one such symbiotic interaction, the roots of many plants are infected by certain fungi that help them acquire phosphate from the soil. * The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations, Jean Marx , Science 2004 304: 234-236. _________________________________________________________________ 10.02. Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree , ScienceDaily Excerpts: The bacteria family tree may be facing some changes due to the recent work of an evolutionary biologist (...). And that may change our understanding of when bacteria and oxygen first appeared on earth. (...) has found that the currently accepted dates for the appearance of oxygen-producing bacteria and sulfur-producing bacteria on the early earth are not correct. She believes that these bacteria appeared on earth much later than is now believed. (...) about 2.7 to 2.9 billion years ago, according to Blank, stromatolites, organisms of the group Bacteria that use photosynthesis to create energy without producing oxygen, first appeared. * Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree, 2004/04/15, ScienceDaily & Washington University In St. Louis * Contributed by Atin Das - dasatinyahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 10.03. Male-Female Conflict: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects And Spiders , Biol. Rev. Abstract: Some recent models suggest a new role for evolutionary arms races between males and females in sexual selection. Female resistance to males is proposed to be driven by the direct advantage to the female of avoiding male-imposed reductions in the number of offspring she can produce, (...). This article (...) test, in a two-step process, whether such new models of arms races between males and females have been responsible for rapid divergent evolution of male genitalia. The test revolves around the prediction that 'new arms races' are less likely to occur in species in which females are largely or completely protected (...). * Male-Female Conflict And Genitalia: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects And Spiders, W. G. Eberhard archisepsis@biologia.ucr.ac.cr , Feb. 2004, DOI: 10.1017/S1464793103006237, Biological Reviews * Contributed by Atin Das - dasatinyahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 11. Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation , arXiv Abstract: Ecolab and Webworld are both models of evolution produced by adding evolution to ecological equations. They differ primarily in the form of the ecological equations. Both models are self-organised to a state where extinctions balance speciations. However, Ecolab shows evidence of this self-organised state being critical, whereas Webworld does not. This paper examines the self-organised states of these two models and suggest the likely cause of the difference. Also the lifetime distribution for a mean field version of Ecolab is computed, showing that the fat tail of the distribution is due to coevolutionary adaption of the species. * Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation, Russell K. Standish , 2004-04-06, DOI: nlin.AO/0404011, arXiv _________________________________________________________________ 12. Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe , NewScientist Excerpts: (...) model could explain two puzzling observations. The first is the pattern of hot and cold spots in the cosmic microwave background radiation,(...) In the model, (...), the Universe curves in a strange way. One end is infinitely long, but so narrow that it has a finite volume. At the other end, the horn flares out, but not for ever - if you could fly towards the flared end in a spaceship, at some point you would find yourself flying back in on the other side of the horn (...). * Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe, Stephen Battersby , 04/04/15, New Scientist _________________________________________________________________ 13. Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons , BBC News Excerpts: The "shepherd" moons keep Saturn's F-ring in check The Cassini probe en route to Saturn has spotted two "shepherd" moons which keep one of the planet's rings in check through their gravitational influence. Prometheus and Pandora stabilise Saturn's narrow, ribbon-like F-ring. But the moons may have other, chaotic effects on the F-ring - their orbits become unpredictable when they approach each other very closely. (...)may also be responsible for features that sometimes form in the ring known as clumps and strands. * Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons, BBC News _________________________________________________________________ 14. UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5' , SpaceDaily Excerpts: (...) a quake measuring at least 6.4 magnitude on the Richter scale will hit a 31,200-square-kilometre area of southern California by September 5. "Even two years back it was practically a dirty word to say earthquake prediction," said Nancy Sauer, an organiser of the annual conference of the Seismological Society of America which began yesterday in Palm Springs. The UCLA team - made up of US, Japanese, Canadian, European and Russian experts in pattern recognition, geodynamics, seismology, chaos theory, statistical physics and public safety - says it has developed algorithms to detect earthquake patterns. The experts predicted in June an earthquake measuring 6.4 or higher would strike within nine months in a 496-kilometre region of central California, including San Simeon, where a 6.5-magnitude temblor struck December 22, killing two people. * UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5', 04/04/15, SpaceDaily _________________________________________________________________ 14.01. Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Niño , Natue Science update Excerpts: El Niño causes droughts and floods once every 3 to 7 years. © JPL / NASA Researchers have created a climate model that can successfully predict, in hindsight, the past 24 El Niño events with a lead time of two years. That's a big improvement on previous models, which can only forecast the Pacific climate disruptions six to nine months in advance,(...) Chen and colleagues fed their model sea surface temperatures from 1856 to 2003. Using a chunk of data, their model could successfully predict the tropical Pacific climate two years later. The model captured all 24 El Niño events since 1856; (...). * Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Niño, Heike Langenberg , 04/04/15, Nature Science update _________________________________________________________________ 15. Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition , Science Excerpts: Many routes have been developed for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes, but their assembly into continuous fibers has been achieved only through postprocessing methods. We spun fibers and ribbons of carbon nanotubes directly from the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis zone of a furnace (...). This process was realized through the appropriate choice of reactants, control of the reaction conditions, and continuous withdrawal of the product with a rotating spindle used in various geometries. This direct spinning from a CVD reaction zone is extendable to other types of fiber (...). * Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition , Ya-Li Li , Ian A. Kinloch , Alan H. Windle , 04/04/09, Science : 276-278. * VIDEO - A video taken looking up at the reaction zone via a mirror placed at the bottom of the reaction tube. _________________________________________________________________ 16. Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations , Internet-First University Press Excerpts: This video shows six laboratory demonstrations of chaos and nonlinear phenomena, (...) The demonstrations are: (1) A tabletop waterwheel that is an exact mechanical analog of the Lorenz equations, one of the most famous chaotic systems; (2) A double pendulum, a paradigm of chaos in conservative systems; (3) Airplane wing vibrations and aeroelastic instabilities, as exemplars of Hopf bifurcations; (4) Self-sustained oscillations in a chemical reaction; (5) Using synchronized chaos to send secret messages; and (6) Composing musical variations with a chaotic mapping. * Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H. , Internet-First University Press, 1994 * VIDEO - Video of Lab demonstrations 152763Kb Video Quicktime _________________________________________________________________ 17. An Error Catastrophe in Cancer? , Journal of Theoretical Biology Abstract: A comparison between the evolution of cancer cell populations and RNA viruses reveals a number of remarkable similarities. Both display high levels of plasticity and adaptability as a consequence of high degrees of genetic variation. It has been suggested that, as it occurs with RNA viruses, there is a threshold in the levels of genetic instability affordable by cancer cells in order to be able to overcome selection barriers (Trends Genet. 15 (1999) M57). Here we explore this concept by means of a simple mathematical model. It is shown that an error threshold exists in this model, which investigates both competition between cancer cell populations and its impact on overall tumor growth dynamics. Once the threshold is reached, the highly unstable tumor cell populations, which were sustaining malignant growth, become unable to maintain their genetic information, which in turn triggers a slowed down overall tumor growth regime. * An Error Catastrophe in Cancer?, Ricard V. Solé , Thomas S. Deisboeck , 2004-05-07, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.08.018, Journal of Theoretical Biology 228(1): 47-54 _________________________________________________________________ 18. New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis' , Science Now Excerpts: In some people, the immune system has a disconcerting tendency to revolt: For some reason, it viciously attacks the body itself. For years scientists have wondered what triggers this rebellion. (...) an aggressive overproduction of a class of T cell that attacks the body's tissues. This T cell coup can be prevented, they found, by exposing the mice to bacteria early in life. The immune system is like a mini-ecosystem--if there's a shortage of one type of cell, another will furiously multiply to fill the niche. * New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis', Jennifer Couzin , 04/04/15, Science Now _________________________________________________________________ 18.01. Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart , Science Excerpts: Inspired by reports that cell infusions can heal animal hearts, cardiologists are rapidly moving to test the idea in humans. Even believers can't explain how or why it might work. (...) The patient died of a stroke apparently unrelated to the bone marrow stem cells he'd received 11 months earlier, and Perin notes that "we are seeing angiogenesis and myogenesis": the growth of both new blood vessels and heart muscle. (...) But how? (...) "if function's improved and [patients] can climb a flight of stairs, who cares?" * Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart, Jennifer Couzin , Gretchen Vogel , 04/04/09, Science : 192-194. _________________________________________________________________ 19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks _________________________________________________________________ 19.01. 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective , NY Times Excerpts: (...) concluded that immigration policies promoted as essential to keeping the country safe from future attacks have been largely ineffective, producing little, if any, information leading to the identification or apprehension of terrorists. (...) "Hundreds of people's rights were violated, and, very importantly, the United States is now seen around the world as a country where Arabs and Muslims can be arrested in secret and held without charges. That's a very dangerous development in terms of a country promoting democracy and human rights as an antidote to terrorism." * 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective, Michael Janofsky , 04/04/17, NYTimes _________________________________________________________________ 19.02. Why Didn't We Stop 9/11? , NY Times Excerpts: Bush You mean using a plane as a missile? Briefer Exactly, Mr. President. We judged this credible partly because Murad was a licensed pilot who had trained at four U.S. flight schools. For that matter, Al Qaeda has shown an intriguing desire to train operatives as pilots. A defector named L'Houssaine Kherchtou was scheduled to go to flight school in Nairobi. A third, Essam al-Ridi, learned flying in Texas. (...). Bush What about the Tom Clancy novel where the pilot crashes a plane into the Capitol (...). * Why Didn't We Stop 9/11?, Nicholas D. Kristof , 04/04/17, NYTimes _________________________________________________________________ 19.03. Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential Power , NY Times Excerpts: For example, in its brief arguing that the courts have no jurisdiction even to hear challenges to the open-ended detention of hundreds of men taken from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the administration says judicial review "would place the federal courts in the unprecedented position of micromanaging the executive's handling of captured enemy combatants from a distant combat zone" and of "superintending the executive's conduct of an armed conflict." That would "raise grave constitutional concerns" under the separation of powers, (...). * Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential Power, Linda Greenhouse , 04/04/18, NYTimes _________________________________________________________________ 20. Links & Snippets _________________________________________________________________ 20.01. Other Publications - Retina Versus Cortex: Contrast Adaptation In Parallel Visual Pathways, S. A. Baccus baccus@fas.harvard.edu , M. Meister , online 2004/04/07, Neuron, DOI: 10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00187-4 - Feeling By Sight Or Seeing By Touch?, L. Merabet , G. Thut , B. Murray , J. Andrews , S. Hsiao , A. P.-Leone apleone@caregroup.harvard.edu , online 2004/04/07, Neuron, DOI: 10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00147-3 - Investigation Of Color Constancy With A Neural Network, R. Stanikunas rytis.stanikunas@ff.vu.lt , H. Vaitkevicius , J. J. Kulikowski , Online 2004/02/20, Neural Networks, DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2003.12.002 - Cognition Is Cool: Can Hemispheric Activation Be Assessed By Tympanic Membrane Thermometry?, N. Cherbuin n.cherbuin@anu.edu.au , C. Brinkman , Online 2004/03/11, Brain and Cognition, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2004.02.014 - An Integration Site For Semantic Web Metadata, A. Harth aharth@isi.edu , 2004/02/26, Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, DOI: 10.1016/j.websem.2003.12.002 - Agent-Based Semantic Web Services, N. Gibbins nmg@ecs.soton.ac.uk , S. Harris swh@ecs.soton.ac.uk , N. Shadbolt nrs@ecs.soton.ac.uk , 2004/02/26, Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, DOI: 10.1016/j.websem.2003.11.002 - A Method For Reconstructing Climate From Fossil Beetle Assemblages, A. Huppert , A. R. Solow , 2004/04/08, Alphagalileo & Proceedings Biological Sciences - Polynomial Epidemics And Clustering In Contact Networks, B. Szendroi , G. Csanyi , 2004/04/08, Alphagalileo & Biology Letters - Sport And Exercise In Mind, E. Snell elaine.snell@which.net , 2004/04/15, Alphagalileo - Study Finds Nerve Damage Can Affect Opposite Side Of Body, 2004/04/13, ScienceDaily & Massachusetts General Hospital - 'Use It Or Lose It' Warning Rings True When It Comes To Exercise, 2004/04/16, ScienceDaily & Ohio State University - Alcoholism Risk Linked To Gene Involved In Brain Chemistry, 2004/04/016, ScienceDaily & Indiana University - A Model For Water Uptake By Plant Roots, T. Roose roose@maths.ox.ac.uk , A. C. Fowler , online 2004/03/12, Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.12.012 - On The Mechanistic Underpinning Of Discrete-Time Population Models With Complex Dynamics, S. A. H. Geritz stefan.geritz@utu.fi , É. Kisdi , online 2004/02/26, Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.01.003 - Aging, Anti-Aging, And Hormesis, S. I. S. Rattan rattan@imsb.au.dk , online 2004/02/19, Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2004.01.006 - Government Mandated Blocking of Foreign Web Content, Maximillian Dornseif , 2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI: cs.CY/0404005 - Mathematical Analysis of Multi-Agent Systems, Kristina Lerman , Aram Galstyan , Tad Hogg , 2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI: cs.RO/0404002 - Periodically Varying Externally Imposed Environmental Effects on Population Dynamics, M. Ballard , V.M. Kenkre , M.N. Kuperman , 2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI: nlin.AO/0404008 - On the Universality of Rank Distributions of Website Popularity, Anton B. Teslyuk , Serge A. Krashakov , Lev N. Shchur , 2004-04-05, arXiv, DOI: cs.NI/0404010 - Computational Universality in Symbolic Dynamical Systems, Jean-Charles Delvenne Petr Kurka , Vincent Blondel , 2004-04-08, arXiv, DOI: cs.CC/0404021 - Modularity from Fluctuations in Random Graphs and Complex Networks, Roger Guimera , Marta Sales-Pardo , Luis A. N. Amaral , 2004-03-26, arXiv, DOI: cond-mat/0403660 - Scale-Free Networks Generated By Random Walkers, Kimmo Kaski , 2004-04-05, arXiv, DOI: cond-mat/0404088 - Topology of Large-scale Engineering Problem-solving Networks, Braha, Dan , Bar-Yam, Yaneer , 2004-04-07, Cogprints 3535 (Phys. Rev. E 69, 016113, 2004) - Self-replicating Loop with Universal Construction, Daniel Mange , André Stauffer , Enrico Petraglio , Gianluca Tempesti , 2004-04-15, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena 191(1-2): 178-192, DOI: 10.1016/j.physd.2003.11.003 - Scientists' Collaboration Strategies: Implications for Scientific and Technical Human Capital, Barry Bozeman , Elizabeth Corley , 2004-04-01, Research Policy, Article in Press, Corrected Proof, DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2004.01.008 - Berners-Lee Wins Inaugural Technology Prize, David Legard , 04/04/16, IDG News Service - Sony Debuts 25-GB Blu-Ray Paper Disc, Jay Lyman , 04/04/16, TechNewsWorld. "Since the Blu-Ray Disc does not require laser light to travel through the substrate, we were able to develop this paper disc," (...). - Labrador Sea Slows Its Swirl , Slowing cog in the ocean climate machine could affect climate - Sun Sets Songbirds' Compass, Calibration keeps birds on track for long migrations - Carbon Sinks, But Does It Stay?, Southern Ocean experiment adds new fuel to the debate over ocean fertilization - One-Stop Shopping for cDNA, New global database lends a hand to gene hunters - Male Bowerbirds Aim to Please, Flashy digs always impress, but mature females also like a song and dance - A Kinder, Gentler Baboon, Kenyan troop's peaceful culture flouts the primates' loutish reputation - Long Fuse for Cambrian Explosion, Fossils suggest diversification of life happened earlier, slower than thought - Space Technology Hits The Slopes, Mark Peplow , 04/04/16, Nature Science update, Damping down vibrations lets skis run smoother. © Digital Vision - Memory Bottleneck Limits Intelligence, Tanguy Chouard , 04/04/15, Single spot in brain determines size of visual scratch pad. - Web Links Leave Abstracts Going Nowhere, John Whitfield , 04/04/08, Nature 428, 592, DOI: 10.1038/428592a - Long-Lasting Sensitization To A Given Colour After Visual Search 657, Chia-Huei Tseng , Joetta L. Gobell , George Sperling , DOI: 10.1038/nature02443 - Trekkie Communicator Ready To Go, 04/04/17, BBC News,If you have ever wanted to emulate Star Trek and talk to colleagues via a lapel communicator, then now is your chance. - Lens Effect Reveals Distant World, David Whitehouse , 04/04/16, BBC News Online _________________________________________________________________ 20.02. Webcast Announcements Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H., Internet-First University Press, 1994 World Economic Forum 2004, Davos, Switzerland Riding the Next Democratic Wave, Al-Thani, Khan, Vike-Freiberga, Wade, Soros, Zakaria, World Economic Forum, 04/01/25 The Future of Global Interdependence, Kharrazi, Held, Owens, Shourie, Annan, Martin, Schwab, World Economic Forum, 04/01/25 Why Victory Against Terrorism Demands Shared Values The Process of Curricular Review: Redefining a World-Class Education, Benedict Gross, Thomas Bender, Harvard@home, 04/01/21, Dean of Harvard College Benedict Gross discusses Harvard's first comprehensive review of the undergraduate curriculum in almost 3 decades. This program introduces the process of curricular review by presenting two segmented lectures. The first, by Dean Gross, outlines the approach and considerations in undertaking the current review. The second lecture, presented by NYU Professor Thomas Bender, presents a historical perspective on academic culture. Cancer Biology , NPR Talk of the Nation, 04/01/16, How the spread of cancer is like wound healing gone awry. Tracking Ebola , NPR Talk of the Nation, 04/01/16, A new study might help scientists predict where Ebola may! strike next. CODIS 2004, International Conference On Communications, Devices And Intelligent Systems, 2004 Calcutta, India, 04/01/09-10 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 Po tential and Practicalities, Bucharest, Romania, 03/07/28-08/08 ECAL 2003, 7th European Conference on Artificial Life, Dortmund, Germany, 03/09/14-17 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 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 _________________________________________________________________ 20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements NKS (New Kind of Science) 2004 Conference and Minicourse, Boston, Massachusetts, 04/04/22-25 IDS'04 - Intentional Dynamic Systems Symposium, Memphis, TN, USA, 04/04/24-26 New Horizons In Search Theory , Newport, RI, 04/04/26-28 Human Systems Dynamics at Work: Complexity Tools for Today, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 04/04/27-28 Life, a Nobel Story , Brussels, BE, 04/04/28 Urban Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, Manchester, UK, 04/04/29-30 Strategic Thinking in a Complex World, Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, 04/05/01-22 What Really Matters ?The Global Forum 2004, Santa Fe, NM, 04/05/02-04 International Conference on the Ontology of Spacetime, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 04/05/11-14 5th International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA, USA, 04/05/16-21 Understanding Complex Systems: Networks, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 04/05/17-20 3rd Intl Conf on Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004) "Transforming Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Success", Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 04/05/19-21 4th Intl Conf on Fractals And Dynamic Systems In Geoscience, München, Germany, 04/05/19-22 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 An Intl Tribute to Francisco Varela, Paris,04/06/18-20 7th Intl Conf on Linking Systems Thinking, Innovation,Quality, Entrepreneurship and Environment (STIQE), MARIBOR, SLOVENIA, 04/06/24-26 Biannual Meeting Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, Whistler, BC, 04/06/24-26 NAACSOS 2004, North American Association for Computational Social and Organizational Science, Pittsburgh PA, 04/06/27-29 Statphys - Kolkata V An International Conference on Complex Networks: Structure, Function and Processes , Kolkata, India, 04/06/27-30 ICAD 2004 10th International Conference on Auditory Display, Sydney, Australia, 04/07/06-09 3rd Intl School Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics Discrete Dynamical Systems and Applications , Urbino (Italy), 04/07/07-09 `Perspectives on Nonlinear Dynamics 2004 (PNLD-2004), Chen! nai, India, 04/07/12-15 From Animals To Animats 8, 8th Intl Conf On The Simulation Of Adaptive Behavior (SAB'04), Los Angeles, USA, 04/07/13-17 14th Annual International Conference The Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences , Milwaukee, WI, USA, 04/07/15-18 Facing Complexity, Wellington, NZ, 04/07/15-17 Interdisciplinary Colloquium, Security Bytes, Security/Life/Terror , Lancaster, 04/07/17-19 Gordon Research Conference on "Oscillations & Dynamic Instabilities In Chemical Systems", Lewiston, ME, 04/07/18-23 3rd Intl Conf Autonomous Agents & Multi-Agent Systems Conference (AAMAS 2004), New York City, 04/07/19-23 7th Intl Workshop on: Trust in Agent Societies , New York City, 04/07/19-20 8th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Orlando, Florida, USA, 04/07/18-21 The 4 th International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex Systems (MCS'2004) , Beijing, 04/07/22-23 2004 Summer Simulation MultiConference (SummerSim'04), San Jose Hyatt, San Jose, California, 04/07/25-29 SME 2004 Symposium on Modeling and Control of Economic Systems , University in Redlands, CA, 04/07/28-31 6th International Mathematica Symposium (IMS 2004), Banff, Canada, 04/08/02-06 Fractals and Natural Hazards at 32nd Intl Geological Congress (IGC), Florence, Italy, 04/08/20-28 ICCC 2004, IEEE International Conference on Computational Cybernetics, , Vienna, Austria, 04/08/30-09/01 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 TNew Economic Windows 2004: Complexity Hints for Economic Policy, Salerno, Italy, 04/09/16-18 The Verhulst 200 on Chaos, Brussels, BELGIUM, 04/09/16-18 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 TEDMED Conference , Charleston SC, 04/10/12-15 Wolfram Technology Conference, Champaign, Illinois, 04/10/21-23 6th Intl Conf on Electronic Commerce ICEC'2004: Towards A New Services Landscape, Delft, The Netherlands, 04/10/25-27 Complexity and Philosophy Workshop - 2-Day Conference , Rio de Janeiro, 04/11 [ Discussion ] _________________________________________________________________ Complexity Digest is an independent publication available to organizations that may wish to repost ComDig (http://comdig.unam.mx/) to their own mailing lists. 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