Complexity Digest 2005.25 Archive: http://comdig.unam.mx "I think the next century will be the century of complexity." Stephen Hawking, 2000 _________________________________________________________________ 01. God is in the Details, The American Enterprise Online 01.01. 'A Different Universe': You Are More Important Than a Quark, NY Times 02. The Uncertain Future for Central Dogma, The Scientist 02.01. Leadership and Uncertainty: Complexity and the Lessons of History, Futures 03. Knowledge and Complexity, Futures 03.01. Types and Forms of Emergence, arXiv 04. Scientific Knowledge as a Public Good, The Scientist 05. Plan to Connect Rural India to the Internet, NY Times 05.01. Using Your Cellphone Anywhere in the World, NY Times 06. Social Structure And Support Networks In Beijing And Hong Kong, Social Networks 06.01. How To Search A Social Network, Social Networks 07. Making Molecules Work, Soft Machines 07.01. New Magnetic Herding Technique Proposed To Manipulate The Very Small, Eurekalert 08. Engineering: Skimming The Surface, Nature 08.01. The Breakdown Of Continuum Models For Mechanical Contacts, Nature 08.02. Glassmaking in Bronze-Age Egypt, Science 09. Quantum Interference Device Made by DNA Templating of Superconducting Nanowires, Science 09.01. New Model 'Permits Time Travel', BBC News 09.02. Discovering The True Nature Of Reality, New Scientist 10. The Triple Alliance: How A Plant-Ant, Living In An Ant-Plant, Acquires The Third Partner, A Scale Insect, Insectes Sociaux 10.01. Effect Of Group Size On The Aggression Strategy Of An Extirpating Stingless Bee, Insectes Sociaux 10.02. Why Are Small Males Aggressive?, Proc. Biol. Sc. 11. Seeds of Diversity, Science 11.01. Jumping DNA Mixes It Up in the Developing Brain, Science 12. Walk Like A Molecular Motor, The Scientist 12.01. Robo-Legs, NY Times 12.02. 'Robot Suit' Enhances Human Power, IST News 13. Shrinking Brains But Healthy Memory -- Does Brain Matter Matter?, ScienceDaily 13.01. Gastric Bug Link To Irregular Heart Rhythm, ScienceDaily 14. Developmental Biology: One Source For Muscle, Nature 15. Uncertainty in Hurricanes and Global Warming, Science 15.01. Global Warming Will Bring Fiercer Hurricanes, New Scientist 16. Big Bang Made Waves In The Sea Of Neutrinos, New Scientist 16.01. Extrasolar Planets Get Smaller and (Possibly) Harder, Science 17. The Story of O2, Science 17.01. A Better Atmosphere for Life, Science 17.02. Dilution of the Northern North Atlantic Ocean in Recent Decades, Science 18. Iraqi Rebels Refine Bomb Skills, Pushing Toll of G.I.'s Higher, NY Times 19. Complex Challenges: Global Terroist Networks 19.01. Abu Ghraib, Rewarded, NY Times 19.02. Guant?namo's Long Shadow, NY Times 20. Links & Snippets 20.01. Other Publications 20.02. Webcast Announcements 20.03. Conference Announcements 20.04. Call for Papers _________________________________________________________________ 01. God is in the Details , The American Enterprise Online Excerpts: Complexity theory has taken a big step away from these redundant arguments. It has tried to explain the emergence of ¡§complex evolving systems,¡¨ organisms capable of maintaining their structural integrity while interacting with a world of outside stimuli. There have been some very exciting developments in the field. The problem for ID is that in many ways complexity theory is actually leading away from the direction in which they would like to go and toward the idea that order can emerge in nature without any directing intelligence. The principle theorist has been Stuart Kauffman, of the Santa Fe Institute, a private group dedicated to the study of complexity theory. (...) ¡§Life is vastly more probable than we have supposed,¡¨ he concludes in his book. ¡§Not only are we at home in the universe, but we are far more likely to share it with as yet unknown companions.¡¨ * [1] God is in the Details, William Tucker, 05/06/16, The American Enterprise Online [1] http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleID.18589/article_detail.asp _________________________________________________________________ 01.01. 'A Different Universe': You Are More Important Than a Quark , NY Times Excerpts: Viktor Koen EVERY child knows how to learn what makes a toy work: bust it open. In that sense, we're all born reductionists, whose philosophy holds that anything can be explained by breaking it into its component parts. By analyzing them, one discovers how the parts act together to produce larger phenomena. If you crack open a windup clock, you can examine its gears to see what makes it tick. Some people resent reductionism because it sweeps away many mysteries. (...) * [2] 'A Different Universe': You Are More Important Than a Quark, Keay Davidson, 05/06/19, NY Times [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/books/review/19DAVIDSO.html _________________________________________________________________ 02. The Uncertain Future for Central Dogma , The Scientist Excerpts: Nearly two decades ago, Paul H. Silverman testified before Congress to advocate the Human Genome Project. He later became frustrated when the exceptions to genetic determinism, discovered by this project and other investigations, were not sufficiently incorporated in current research and education. In "Rethinking Genetic Determinism,"1 Silverman questioned one of the pillars of molecular genetics and documented the need for determinism's expansion into a far more valid and reliable representation of reality. He would receive correspondence from all over the world that reinforced this vision. * [3] The Uncertain Future for Central Dogma, Arnold F. Goodman, Cl?udia M. Bellato, Lily Khidr, 05/06/20, The Scientist [3] http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/6/20/20/1 _________________________________________________________________ 02.01. Leadership and Uncertainty: Complexity and the Lessons of History , Futures Abstract: Problems faced by military leaders will be used to evaluate techniques for dealing with the limits of knowledge. A survey of recent scientific developments will establish that knowledge is limited in principle, and historical examples for coping with limited knowledge in practice will then be analyzed. The convergence between the science of complexity and successful cases of social evolution indicates that the limits of knowledge extend the frontiers of understanding. Concluding sections will briefly explore some ethical implications potentially useful to political and social leaders. * [4] Leadership and Uncertainty: Complexity and the Lessons of History, Robert Artigiani, 2005/09, DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2004.11.002, Futures 37(7):585-603 [4] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.11.002 _________________________________________________________________ 03. Knowledge and Complexity , Futures Excerpt: The inspiration for this special edition came from a series of presentations, and some lively debate, at a workshop held in Budapest at the Central European University. The theme of that workshop was focused on the topic of ‘Limits to Knowledge—the Implications of Complexity’. The papers in this special edition explore complexity, and the limits to knowledge, from a variety of standpoints—economics, history, philosophy, management, industry, and simulation. See Also: Special issue on " [5] Complexity and the limits of knowledge" * [6] Knowledge and Complexity, Peter M. Allen, Paul M. Torrens, 2005/09, DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2004.11.004, Futures 37(7):581-584 [5] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=IssueURL&_tockey=%23TOC%235805%232005%23999629992%23598295%23FLA%23display%23Volume_37,_Issue_7,_Pages_581-766_(September_2005)%2BMComplexity_and_the_limits_of_knowledge%2BMEdited_by_Peter_M._Allen_and_Paul_M._Torrens%23tagged%23Volume%23first%3D37%23Issue%23first%3D7%23date%23(September_2005)%23specissname%23Complexity_and_the_limits_of_knowledge%23specisseditor%23Edited_by_Peter_M._Allen_and_Paul_M._Torrens%23&_auth=y&view=c&_acct=C000050280&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=2123955&md5=a35ae12efd381ed26603f1fcadb13c09 target=new [6] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.11.004 _________________________________________________________________ 03.01. Types and Forms of Emergence , arXiv Abstract: The knowledge of the different types of emergence is essential if we want to understand and master complex systems in science and engineering, respectively. This paper specifies a universal taxonomy and comprehensive classification of the major types and forms of emergence in Multi-Agent Systems, from simple types of intentional and predictable emergence in machines to more complex forms of weak, multiple and strong emergence. * [7] Types and Forms of Emergence, Jochen Fromm, 2005/06/13, DOI: nlin.AO/0506028, arXiv [7] http://arXiv.org/abs/nlin.AO/0506028 _________________________________________________________________ 04. Scientific Knowledge as a Public Good , The Scientist Excerpts: Life scientists are accustomed to thinking about quantifying the products of their knowledge in terms of such things as papers published, discoveries made, or, in the case of applied science, diseases treated. But there is another useful way to think about the value of scientific knowledge, which is as a public good. The public goods characteristic of ideas and knowledge - that they are freely available to all and are not diminished by use - can be traced to St. Augustine (circa 400). Adam Smith laid the conceptual economic basis for public goods in 1776, but economists did not give much attention to them until the mid-1950s. However, it has been difficult to reduce knowledge to numerical form and measurement, particularly in the basic sciences, so that there is little hard data on the linkage between scientific knowledge and growth. * [8] Scientific Knowledge as a Public Good, Dana G. Dalrymple, 05/06/20, The Scientist [8] http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/6/20/10/1 _________________________________________________________________ 05. Plan to Connect Rural India to the Internet , NY Times Excerpts: An international consortium, including Indian and American companies as well as the World Bank, is planning to establish thousands of rural Internet centers in India to bring government, banking and education services to isolated villages. The project, to be announced Thursday, is intended to bring Internet-based services to individuals who must often travel long distances to conduct banking or business with the government. It is being undertaken by Comat Technologies, an Indian provider of Internet services; ICICI Bank (...) * [9] Plan to Connect Rural India to the Internet, John Markoff, 05/06/15, NY Times [9] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/16/technology/16compute.html _________________________________________________________________ 05.01. Using Your Cellphone Anywhere in the World , NY Times Excerpts: With newer phones that support international standards, it's now easier and cheaper to stay in touch with cellphones when traveling overseas. AMERICAN cellphones work fairly well across most of the United States, but what about when you travel to, say, Paris? With newer phones that support international standards, reducing roaming rates and allowing you to take advantage of local rates, it's now easier and cheaper to stay in touch with cellphones when traveling overseas. * [10] Using Your Cellphone Anywhere in the World, David A. Kelly, 05/06/19, NYTimes [10] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/travel/19prac.html _________________________________________________________________ 06. Social Structure And Support Networks In Beijing And Hong Kong , Social Networks Excerpt: This study examines personal support networks in Beijing and Hong Kong, based on survey data collected in 2000. It was found that these two Chinese cities, which share a common Confucian cultural heritage, are similar in many aspects of social support. The supportive roles of spouse or partner are prominent and diffuse. Other close relatives are more involved in instrumental than emotional support. Non-kin primary ties specialize in emotional support. Neither extended kin support nor institutional support is significant. Nonetheless, the two cities differ in certain aspects of social support, reflecting their differences in such macro social-structural forces as economic modernization, (...). * [11] Social Structure And Support Networks In Beijing And Hong Kong, [12] W. Shu, P. A. Strassmann, Jul. 2005, online 2005/05/04, DOI: 10.1016/j.socnet.2005.04.001, Social Networks * Contributed by [13] Pritha Das [11] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VD1-4G3CWVY-1&_user=10&_handle=V-WA-A-W-D-MsSAYWA-UUW-U-AAWAVDUWZY-AAAEUCAUZY-ADVBZWEDB-D-U&_fmt=summary&_coverDate=07%2F31%2F2005&_rdoc=6&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235969%232005%23999729996%23598748!&_cdi=5969&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=02a3f1963909d51bca00c8376a925fb5 [12] mailto:wesley.shu@sdsu.edu [13] mailto:prithadas01@yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ 06.01. How To Search A Social Network , Social Networks Excerpt: We address the question of how participants in a small world experiment are able to find short paths in a social network using only local information about their immediate contacts. We simulate such experiments on a network of actual email contacts within an organization as well as on a student social networking website. On the email network we find that small world search strategies using a contact's position in physical space or in an organizational hierarchy relative to the target can effectively be used to locate most individuals. (...) * [14] How To Search A Social Network, [15] W. Shu, P. A. Strassmann, Jul. 2005, online 2005/03/13, DOI: 10.1016/j.socnet.2005.01.007, Social Networks * Contributed by [16] Pritha Das [14] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VD1-4FPDR53-1&_user=10&_handle=V-WA-A-W-D-MsSAYWA-UUW-U-AAWAVDUWZY-AAAEUCAUZY-ADVBZWEDB-D-U&_fmt=summary&_coverDate=07%2F31%2F2005&_rdoc=3&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235969%232005%23999729996%23598748!&_cdi=5969&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=ba828b04241f4a67d3cdb3ab56912a60 [15] mailto:wesley.shu@sdsu.edu [16] mailto:prithadas01@yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ 07. Making Molecules Work , Soft Machines Excerpts: The operation of most living organisms, from bacteria like E. Coli to multi-cellular organisms like ourselves, depends on molecular motors. These are protein-based machines which convert chemical energy to mechanical energy; the work our muscles do depends on many billions of these nanoscale machines all operating together, while individual motors propel bacteria or move materials around inside our cells. Molecular motors work in a very different way to the motors we are familiar with on the macroscopic scale, as has been revealed by some stunning experiments combining structural biology with single molecule biophysics. * [17] Making Molecules Work, Richard Jones, 05/06/20, Soft Machines [17] http://www.softmachines.org/wordpress/index.php?p=127 _________________________________________________________________ 07.01. New Magnetic Herding Technique Proposed To Manipulate The Very Small , Eurekalert Excerpts: Engineers have introduced a new magnetic shepherding approach for deftly moving or positioning the kinds of tiny floating objects found within organisms, in order to advance potential applications in fields ranging from medicine to nanotechnology. The authors of a new research article said their method avoids pitfalls of using tiny light beams, electric currents or even a competing magnetic approach to micromanipulate so-called "colloidal" objects. "Biology is composed primarily of colloidal materials, things larger than a few billionths of a meter that are suspended in solution and don't settle rapidly,(...) * [18] New Magnetic Herding Technique Proposed To Manipulate The Very Small, [19] Monte Basgall, 05/06/20, Eurekalert [18] http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/du-nmh062005.php [19] mailto:monte.basgall@duke.edu _________________________________________________________________ 08. Engineering: Skimming The Surface , Nature Excerpts: Models of the microscopic contact area between two surfaces work surprisingly well, or fail completely, depending on the aspects of adhesion or friction being investigated. A simulation now shows how the details matter. What happens at the atomic and molecular level when surfaces come into contact with each other? And how do these events relate to macroscopic properties and observations? * [20] Engineering: Skimming The Surface, Jacob N. Israelachvili, 05/06/16, DOI: 10.1038/435893a, Nature 435, 893-895 [20] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7044/full/435893a.html _________________________________________________________________ 08.01. The Breakdown Of Continuum Models For Mechanical Contacts , Nature Excerpts: Forces acting within the area of atomic contact between surfaces play a central role in friction and adhesion. Such forces are traditionally calculated using continuum contact mechanics1, which is known to break down as the contact radius approaches atomic dimensions. Yet contact mechanics is being applied at ever smaller lengths, driven by interest in shrinking devices to nanometre scales2, 3, creating nanostructured materials with optimized mechanical properties3, 4, and understanding the molecular origins of macroscopic friction and adhesion5, 6. Here we use molecular simulations to test the limits of contact mechanics under ideal conditions. * [21] The Breakdown Of Continuum Models For Mechanical Contacts, Binquan Luan , Mark O. Robbins, 05/06/16, DOI: 10.1038/nature03700, Nature 435, 929-932 [21] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7044/full/nature03700.html _________________________________________________________________ 08.02. Glassmaking in Bronze-Age Egypt , Science Excerpts: Ever since Sir Flinders Petrie [22] [HN1] discovered evidence for Bronze-Age glass production in Tell el-Amarna, Egypt [23] [HN2], in the late 19th century [24] (1), controversy has surrounded his findings. Does the evidence represent primary glass production (raw materials were mixed to produce glass) or secondary working (ready-made glass was imported and reworked into artifacts)? The answer has important implications for understanding trade and exchange in the Mediterranean during the late second millennium B.C. On page [25] 1756 of this issue, Rehren and Pusch [26] [HN3] [27] (2) provide evidence in favor * [28] Glassmaking in Bronze-Age Egypt, Caroline M. Jackson, 05/06/17, Science : 1750-1752 [22] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750#note1 [23] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750#note2 [24] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750#ref1 [25] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/308/5729/1756 [26] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750#note3 [27] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750#ref2 [28] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1750 _________________________________________________________________ 09. Quantum Interference Device Made by DNA Templating of Superconducting Nanowires , Science Summary: Using molecules as templates onto which metal wires can be deposited is opening up opportunities for self-assembled circuitry and the formation of devices. (...) used two strands of DNA stretched across a trench as a template to deposit two finely coupled superconducting nanowires. Although the structure superficially resembles a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), and the resistance oscillates as a function of magnetic field, close inspection of the magnetotransport behavior suggests somewhat different behavior from that of standard mesoscopic superconducting devices. * [29] Quantum Interference Device Made by DNA Templating of Superconducting Nanowires, David S. Hopkins, David Pekker, Paul M. Goldbart, Alexey Bezryadin, 05/06/17, Science : 1762-1765 [29] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1762 _________________________________________________________________ 09.01. New Model 'Permits Time Travel' , BBC News Excerpts: If you went back in time and met your teenage parents, you could not split them up and prevent your birth - even if you wanted to, a new quantum model has stated. Researchers speculate that time travel can occur within a kind of feedback loop where backwards movement is possible, but only in a way that is "complementary" to the present. In other words, you can pop back in time and have a look around, but you cannot do anything that will alter the present you left behind. * [30] New Model 'Permits Time Travel', Julianna Kettlewell, 05/06/17, BBC News [30] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4097258.stm _________________________________________________________________ 09.02. Discovering The True Nature Of Reality , New Scientist Excerpts: If Einstein was right, we must sacrifice either free will or reality itself. But there may be an even more extraordinary way out, (...). WHAT keeps Nicolas Gisin pressing on with his experiments? He goes to extraordinary lengths to fire photons beneath the waters of Lake Geneva, sending them through fibre-optic telephone cables from his lab at the University of Geneva to another lab some 25 kilometres away. And time after time his results prove what we have known for nearly a century: that quantum theory makes good predictions about the properties of particles like Gisin's photons. Why does he bother? * [31] Discovering The True Nature Of Reality, Mark Buchanan, 05/06/18, New Scientist [31] http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg18625041.400 _________________________________________________________________ 10. The Triple Alliance: How A Plant-Ant, Living In An Ant-Plant, Acquires The Third Partner, A Scale Insect , Insectes Sociaux Excerpts: Mutualistic associations between ants and plants often involve a third partner, scale insects (Hemiptera, Coccoidea). In southeast Asia, plant-ants of the genus Cladomyrma live together with coccoids in hollowed twigs of a wide range of ant-plants (myrmecophytes). Established colonies never lack sap-sucking scale insects and the ants appear to be dependent on the honeydew excretions of their trophobionts. Acquisition of scale insects thus seems to be an important step in the successful establishment of a new colony on a host plant. (...) * [32] The Triple Alliance: How A Plant-Ant, Living In An Ant-Plant, Acquires The Third Partner, A Scale Insect, [33] J. Moog, L. G. Saw , R. Hashim , U. Maschwitz, May 2005, DOI: 10.1007/s00040-005-0791-3, Insectes Sociaux * Contributed by [34] Atin Das [32] http://www.springerlink.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=e7279e92ae754cf4b10a2d95b5c8c81e&referrer=parent&backto=issue,10,15;journal,1,34;browsepublicationsresults,939,2444; [33] mailto: j.moog@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de [34] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 10.01. Effect Of Group Size On The Aggression Strategy Of An Extirpating Stingless Bee , Insectes Sociaux Excerpts: Group aggression influences communication and defense strategies in many social insect communities. Such aggression plays a particularly significant role in the lives of stingless bees, important native Neotropical pollinators, in which the battle for food resources can be deadly and critical to colony survival. However, the effects of group size on individual aggression levels and the spatio-temporal aggression strategy of communal aggressors have not been fully explored. We therefore investigated how group size affects the aggression levels and the spatio-temporal attack strategy (which body parts, and the amount of time spent in attacking each part) in close combats (...). * [35] Effect Of Group Size On The Aggression Strategy Of An Extirpating Stingless Bee, Trigona Spinipes, [36] J. C. Nieh, K. Kruizinga , L. S. Barreto , F. A. L. Contrera , V. L. I.-Fonseca, May 2005, DOI: 10.1007/s00040-005-0791-3, Insectes Sociaux * Contributed by [37] Atin Das [35] http://www.springerlink.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=e7279e92ae754cf4b10a2d95b5c8c81e&referrer=parent&backto=issue,7,15;journal,1,34;browsepublicationsresults,939,2444; [36] mailto:jnieh@ucsd.edu [37] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 10.02. Why Are Small Males Aggressive? , Proc. Biol. Sc. Excerpts: Aggression is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, whenever the interests of individuals conflict. In contests between animals, the larger opponent is often victorious. However, counter intuitively, an individual that has little chance of winning (generally smaller individuals) sometimes initiates contests. (...) explanation suggested recently is that likely losers attack due to an error in perception: they mistakenly perceive their chances of winning as being greater than they are. We show that explaining the apparently maladaptive aggression initiated by the likely loser can be explained on purely economic grounds, without requiring either the desperado effect or perception errors. (...) * [38] Why Are Small Males Aggressive?, L. J. Morrell , J. Lindström , G. D. Ruxton, 2005/06/15, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3085, Proceedings: Biological Sciences * Contributed by [39] Atin Das [38] http://www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=2590338fea3e46e88a32b61c532752a0&referrer=parent&backto=issue,8,32;journal,1,197;linkingpublicationresults,1:102024,1 [39] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 11. Seeds of Diversity , Science Excerpts: In a simple logistic growth model, the size of a population expands until further growth is limited by resource availability and the population size reaches a plateau. Robert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson extended these ideas to account for the effect of resources on species diversity in their model of island biogeography [40] (1). Over the short term, competition for resources generates an equilibrium level of species diversity through a balance between immigration and extirpation. Over the longer term, equilibrium diversity reflects a balance between speciation and extinction,(...) * [41] Seeds of Diversity, Douglas H. Erwin, 05/06/17, Science: 1752-1753. [40] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1752#ref1 [41] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1752 _________________________________________________________________ 11.01. Jumping DNA Mixes It Up in the Developing Brain , Science Excerpts: We usually attribute the unique temperaments and talents of each person to a mysterious mix of heredity and environment. A provocative new study, however, suggests that a third factor also plays a role in generating individual differences: bits of genetic material that spontaneously hop around the genome of neurons in the developing brain, altering patterns of gene expression. In the 16 June issue of Nature, the discoverers of this phenomenon, led by Fred Gage at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, propose that the process adds a random twist to neural development that ensures that no two brains--not even those of identical twins--are put together in exactly the same way.(...) * [42] Jumping DNA Mixes It Up in the Developing Brain, Greg Miller, 05/06/17, Science : 1729 [42] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1729a _________________________________________________________________ 12. Walk Like A Molecular Motor , The Scientist Excerpts: Courtesy of Precision Graphics, precisiongraphics.com Cells are a riot of activity. When a cell divides, chromosomes replicate and segregate into two daughter cells; flagella wiggle around to move sperm; cilia beat so mucous doesn't accumulate in the lung; and nerve cells fire by vesicles moving around and releasing their neurotransmitters. But how does such coordinated motion happen? The universal answer, it turns out, is molecular motors: proteins that convert the energy in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cellular food source, to produce a force or torque on the cargo, moving it some distance. * [43] Walk Like A Molecular Motor, Paul R. Selvin, 05/06/20, The Scientist [43] http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/6/20/30/1 _________________________________________________________________ 12.01. Robo-Legs , NY Times Excerpts: Blond and buff, Cameron Clapp is a teenage star. Dressed fashionably in a faded T-shirt, baggy shorts and sneakers, he recently strolled the crowded sidewalks of Times Square. He walked confidently, flashing the megawatt smile that brightens his Web site and various photographs in newspapers and magazines that have chronicled his story as he travels the country. Few, if any, of the onlookers had little idea that he is the poster manchild of a new generation of people who are not only embracing(...) * [44] Robo-Legs, Michel Marriott, 05/06/20, NYTimes [44] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/20/health/menshealth/20marriott.html?pagewanted=all _________________________________________________________________ 12.02. 'Robot Suit' Enhances Human Power , IST News Excerpt: Japan has taken a step into science-fiction with the release of a 'robot suit' that can help workers lift heavy loads or assist people with disabilities climb stairs. "Humans may be able to mutate into supermen in the near future," (...). The 15-kilogram battery-powered suit, code-named HAL-5, detects muscle movements through electrical-signal flows on the skin surface and then amplifies them. It can also move on its own accord, enabling it to help elderly or handicapped people walk, developers said. The prototype suit will be displayed at the World Exposition that is currently taking place in Aichi prefecture, central Japan. * [45] 'Robot Suit' Enhances Human Power, 2005/06/15, Information Society Technologies News * Contributed by [46] Atin Das [45] http://istresults.cordis.lu/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/news/BrowsingType/news [46] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 13. Shrinking Brains But Healthy Memory -- Does Brain Matter Matter? , ScienceDaily Excerpts: Brain shrinkage, a common symptom of ageing when people hit their 60's, appears to have no impact on an individual's capacity to think or learn, (...). "The common belief is that the brain shrinks with age and that this shrinkage is linked to poorer memory and thinking. There is also a belief that greater education, or continued, sustained intellectual activity might allow people to better accommodate the effects of brain ageing," Professor Christensen said. "Our findings do not support these beliefs. (...) In the present study, we found no relationship between brain shrinkage and education level" (...) * [47] Shrinking Brains But Healthy Memory -- Does Brain Matter Matter?, 2005/06/11, ScienceDaily & Research Australia * Contributed by [48] Atin Das [47] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050611153907.htm [48] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 13.01. Gastric Bug Link To Irregular Heart Rhythm , ScienceDaily Excerpts: A common stomach bug may also be linked to the development of irregular heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation, suggests a small study in Heart. The bug in question, Helicobacter pylori, causes ulcers, and has also been implicated in the development of stomach cancer and ischaemic heart disease. (...) The patients with atrial fibrillation were around 20 times as likely to test positive for H pylori as the healthy volunteers, and their levels of C reactive protein were around five times as high. (...) * [49] Gastric Bug Link To Irregular Heart Rhythm, 2005/06/16, ScienceDaily & BMJ Specialty Journals * Contributed by [50] Atin Das [49] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050616062204.htm [50] mailto:dasatin@yahoo.co.in _________________________________________________________________ 14. Developmental Biology: One Source For Muscle , Nature Excerpts: Producing muscle as an embryo, and making or repairing it as an adult, could be considered to be quite different processes. But it seems that cells that share a common origin carry out both of these tasks. The generation and repair of skeletal muscle is a highly ordered, multi-step process that requires many progenitor cells and continues throughout embryonic, fetal and postnatal life * [51] Developmental Biology: One Source For Muscle, Iain W. McKinnell , Michael A. Rudnicki, 05/06/16, DOI: 10.1038/435898a, Nature 435, 898-899 [51] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7044/full/435898a.html _________________________________________________________________ 15. Uncertainty in Hurricanes and Global Warming , Science Excerpts: During the 2004 hurricane season in the North Atlantic, an unprecedented four hurricanes hit Florida; during the same season in the Pacific, 10 tropical cyclones or typhoons hit Japan (the previous record was six) [52] (1). Some scientists say that this increase is related to global warming; others say that it is not. Can a trend in hurricane activity in the North Atlantic be detected? Can any such trend be attributed to human activity? Are we even asking the right questions? * [53] Uncertainty in Hurricanes and Global Warming, Kevin Trenberth, 05/06/17, Science : 1753-1754 [52] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1753#ref1 [53] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1753 _________________________________________________________________ 15.01. Global Warming Will Bring Fiercer Hurricanes , New Scientist Excerpts: Despite intense speculation, there is no proof that global warming has caused an increase in the number of Atlantic hurricanes in recent years. But a warming Earth is definitely making the hurricanes wetter, more powerful and hence more dangerous. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Atlantic spawned an average of 8.6 tropical storms, 5 hurricanes and 1.5 major hurricanes each year between 1970 and 1994. But from 1995 to 2004, the averages zoomed to 13.6, 7.8 and 3.8 respectively. * [54] Global Warming Will Bring Fiercer Hurricanes, Kevin Trenberth, 05/06/25, New Scientist [54] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625054.800 _________________________________________________________________ 16. Big Bang Made Waves In The Sea Of Neutrinos , New Scientist Excerpts: In another victory for big bang theory, astrophysicists have found hints of waves rippling through the sea of ghostly neutrino particles that fill the universe. According to the theory, about a second after the big bang the universe became "transparent" to the neutrinos that had already been churned out in copious quantities. These neutrinos then streamed freely through space, forming a so-called neutrino background. Variations in density across the universe, caused by the lumpy matter in the fireball of the big bang, would have created ripples in this background. * [55] Big Bang Made Waves In The Sea Of Neutrinos, 05/06/25, New Scientist [55] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625054.900 _________________________________________________________________ 16.01. Extrasolar Planets Get Smaller and (Possibly) Harder , Science Excerpts: Planet hunters are edging toward an alien version of home. Astronomers have identified the littlest planet known to orbit a normal star, with a likely mass just 7.5 times that of Earth--half the size of the previous record-holder. But the finding's uniqueness isn't quite on firm ground: Although its discoverers say the world is "plausibly rocky," it may be similar to a batch of exoplanets unveiled last year by competing teams from the United States and Europe (Science, 3 September 2004, p. [56] 1382). * [57] Extrasolar Planets Get Smaller and (Possibly) Harder, Robert Irion, 05/06/17, Science : 1727 [56] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/305/5689/1382 [57] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1727a _________________________________________________________________ 17. The Story of O2 , Science Excerpts: Gaseous oxygen is essential to advanced life, but Earth came with no guarantees that oxygen would abound. Researchers are piecing together life's complex involvement in oxygen's halting 3-billion-year rise In the beginning, Earth was devoid of oxygen, and then life arose from nonlife. As that first life evolved over a billion years, it began to produce oxygen, but not enough for the life-energizing gas to appear in the atmosphere. Was green scum all there was to life, all there ever would be? (...) * [58] The Story of O2, Richard A. Kerr, 05/06/17, Science : 1730-173 [58] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1730 _________________________________________________________________ 17.01. A Better Atmosphere for Life , Science Excerpts: Thirty years ago, geochemists took away the primordial soup that biologists thought they needed to cook up the first life on Earth. Now, some atmospheric chemists are trying to give it back. They're suggesting that the early Earth could have held onto much more of its volcanic hydrogen--a key ingredient in the recipe for making the organic compounds that may have led to the first life. Creating the primordial organic goo used to be easy.(...) * [59] A Better Atmosphere for Life, Richard A. Kerr, 05/06/17, Science : 1732 [59] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1732 _________________________________________________________________ 17.02. Dilution of the Northern North Atlantic Ocean in Recent Decades , Science Summary: The strength of large-scale ocean thermohaline circulation depends in part on the saltiness of the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. The salinity of the upper waters there has been decreasing during the past 30 or more years, but how much fresh water must have been added to produce those changes has been unclear. (...) reconstruct the history of the ocean temperature, salinity, and density of the Nordic Seas and Subpolar Basins for last 50 years in order to determine what must have been the fresh water inputs there. Although the fluxes that they calculate are high, they do not appear to be great enough to slow or shut down thermohaline circulation within the next century or two. * [60] Dilution of the Northern North Atlantic Ocean in Recent Decades, Ruth Curry , Cecilie Mauritzen, 05/06/17, Science : 1772-1774 [60] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5729/1772 _________________________________________________________________ 18. Iraqi Rebels Refine Bomb Skills, Pushing Toll of G.I.'s Higher , NY Times Excerpts: U.S. casualties from bomb attacks have reached new heights as insurgents deploy devices that leave armored vehicles increasingly vulnerable.(...) The surge in attacks, the officials say, has coincided with the appearance of significant advancements in bomb design, including the use of "shaped" charges that concentrate the blast and give it a better chance of penetrating armored vehicles, causing higher casualties. Another change, a senior military officer said, has been the detonation of explosives by infrared lasers, an innovation aimed at bypassing electronic jammers used to block radio-wave detonators. (...) "sophistication is increasing and it will increase further." * [61] Iraqi Rebels Refine Bomb Skills, Pushing Toll of G.I.'s Higher, David S. Cloud, 05/06/22, NYTimes [61] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/international/middleeast/22bomb.html?th&emc=th _________________________________________________________________ 19. Complex Challenges: Global Terroist Networks _________________________________________________________________ 19.01. Abu Ghraib, Rewarded , NY Times Excerpts: It is nice that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his team feel as if they have achieved closure on their prisoner abuse issues and are ready to move on. The problem is, they are still in deep denial. The Bush administration has not only refused to face the problem squarely, but it is also enabling a pervasive lack of accountability. The most recent evidence of this sad state of affairs came this week in an article in The Times by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker,(...) * [62] Abu Ghraib, Rewarded, 05/06/22, NYTimes [62] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/opinion/22wed1.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print _________________________________________________________________ 19.02. Guant?namo's Long Shadow , NY Times Excerpts: F.B.I. agents, reporting earlier on the treatment of Mr. Kahtani, said a dog was used "in an aggressive manner to intimidate" him. At one point, according to the log, Mr. Kahtani's interrogator told him that he needed to learn, like a dog, to show respect: "Began teaching detainee lessons such as stay, come and bark to elevate his social status to that of a dog. Detainee became very agitated." At a minimum, the treatment of Mr. Kahtani was an exercise in degradation and humiliation.(...) * [63] Guant?namo's Long Shadow, Anthony Lewis, 05/06/21, NYTimes [63] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/opinion/21lewis.html _________________________________________________________________ 20. Links & Snippets _________________________________________________________________ 20.01. Other Publications - Generalized Synchronization: A Modified System Approach, 2005/06/09, arXiv, DOI: nlin.CD/0506023 - Galactic Gradients, Postbiological Evolution and the Apparent Failure of SETI, 2005/06/06, arXiv, DOI: astro-ph/0506110 - Dolphin Mothers Pass Tool Use to Daughters, 2005/06/06, News@Nature, DOI: 10.1038/news050606-2 - Emergent Behavior In Two Complex Cellular Automata Rule Sets, May-Jun. 2005, Online 2005/06/13, Complexity, DOI: 10.1002/cplx.20089 - Frequency And Dependence Of Long Range Temporal Correlations In Human Hippocampal Energy Fluctuations, May-Jun. 2005, Online 2005/06/13, Complexity, DOI: 10.1002/cplx.20088 - From Science To Commerce: The Evolution Of Space Development Policy And Technology Accumulation In India, Apr. 2005, online 2005/02/26, Technology in Society, DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2005.01.003 - New Website For Science Education, 2005/06/13, Information Society Technologies News - Services Expand World Of The Internet, 2005/06/15, Information Society Technologies News - A Graphical Approach For Evaluating Effective Connectivity In Neural Systems, 2005/06/13, Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2005.1641 - Review. Models Of Foot-And-Mouth Disease, 2005/06/15, Proceedings: Biological Sciences, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3046 - What Comes First -- The Chicken, The Egg, Or The Bad Attitude?, 2005/06/14, ScienceDaily & University of Alberta - TV Confuses Children About Which Foods Are Healthy, New Study Finds, 2005/06/17, ScienceDaily & University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign - Direct Assessment Of Queen Quality And Lack Of Worker Suppression In A Paper Wasp, 2005/06/15, Proceedings: Biological Sciences, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3073 - Internet Usage Of Local Government Employees: A Study Of The Effect Of Individual Preferences, Group Influences, And Administrative Factors, online 2005/05/04, The Social Science Journal, DOI: 10.1016/j.soscij.2005.03.001 - Gender Differences In Faculty Pay And Faculty Salary Compression, online 2005/05/10, The Social Science Journal, DOI: 10.1016/j.soscij.2005.03.006 - Pattern Of Changes In Species Diversity, Structure And Dynamics Of Forest Ecosystems Along Latitudinal Gradients In East Asia, May 2005, online 2005/03/03, Ecological Research, DOI: 10.1007/s11284-005-0044-y - The Relationship Between Problems With Technology And Graduate Students' Evaluations Of Online Teaching, 2nd Quarter 2005, online 2005/06/03, The Internet and Higher Education, DOI: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2005.03.005 _________________________________________________________________ 20.02. Webcast Announcements [64] North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity 2005 Conference, Virtual Conference Network, St. Pete's Beach, Florida, 05/06/09-11 [65] Understanding Complex Systems - Computational Complexity and Bioinformatics, Virtual Conference Network, Urbana-Champaign, Il, UIUC, 05/05/16-19 [66] Changing Habitats...Vanishing Species , Harvard University Science Center, 04/11/12 [67] Symposium : Energy For The Future, Taipei, Taiwan, 05/04/08 [68] Nonlinearity, Fluctuations, and Complexity, with a celebration of the 65th birthday of Gregoire Nicolis. , Complexity Session, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, 05/03/16 [69] World Economic Forum , Davos, Switzerland, 05/01/26-30 [70] 1st European Conference on Complex Systems, Torino, Italy, 04/12/5-7 [71] Neurobiological Foundation For The Meaning Of Information, Kolkata, India, Conference Webcast, 04/11/22-25 [72] ALife 9: Ninth International Conference on Artificial Life, Boston, MA, 04/09/12-15 The 4th Intl Workshop on Meta-synthesis and Complex System, Beijing, China, 04/07/22-23 Intl Conf on Complex Networks: Structure, Function and Processes, Kolkata, India, 04/06/27-30 From Autopoiesis to Neurophenomenology: A Tribute to Francisco Varela (1946-2001), Paris, France, 2004/06/18-20 ECC8 Experimental Chaos Conference, Florence, Italy, 04/06/14-17 Evolutionary Epistemology, Language, and Culture, Brussels, Belgium, 04/05/26-28 International Conference on Complex Systems 2004, Boston, 04/05/16-21 Life, a Nobel Story, Brussels, Belgium, 04/04/28 Nonlinear Dynamics and Statistical Mechanics Days, Brussels, Belgium, 04/04/26-27 Science Education Forum for Chinese Language Culture, Panel Discussion, Taipei, Taiwan, 04/05/01 Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced Information Technology, , Lausanne,Switzerland, 04/01/29-30 Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H., Internet-First University Press, 1994 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 [64] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05NASPSA/ target=new [65] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05UCS/ target=new [66] http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/chvs.html Target=new [67] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/05EFTF/ Target=new [68] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/Nicolis05/Target=new [69] http://clients.world-television.com/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2005/default.aspTarget=new [70] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/ECCS04/Target=new [71] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/ICONIP04/ Target=new [72] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/ALife9 Target=new _________________________________________________________________ 20.03. Conference Announcements 2005 World Exposition [73] "Nature's Wisdom", Aichi, Japan, 05/03/25-09/25 NKS Summer School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 05/06/20-07/08 6th Intl Conf Symmetry in Nonlinear Mathematical Physics, Kiev, Ukraine, 05/06/20-26 Workshop on Complexity and Policy Analysis, Cork, Ireland, 05/06/22-24 2005 Genetic And Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2005), Washington, DC, USA, 05/06/25-29 Nonlinear Science, Waterville, ME, 05/06/26-07/01 6th Intl Summer School/Conference "Let's Face Chaos Through Nonlinear Dynamics"Dedicated to the 75th Birthday of Professor Siegfried Grossmann, Maribor, Slovenia, 05/06/26-07/10 Arts and Science in the Information Society, Paris, 8-10 July 2005 Computational Social and Organizational Science (NAACSOS 2005), University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN USA, 05/06/26-28 The Potential Impacts Of Systemics On Society, 49th Annual Meeting of the Intl Soc for the System Sciences, Cancun, Mexico, 05/07/01-05 WOSC 13th International Congress Of Cybernetics And Systems, Maribor, Slovenia, 05/07/06-10 Summer Graduate Workshop In Computational Social Science Modeling And Complexity, Santa Fe, NM, 05/07/10-23 Sino-Japan Workshop on Meta-synthesis and Creativity Support System, Beijing, 05/07/11-13 First Summer School on Aspects of Complexity, Bertinoro (Forlì), Italy, 05/07/18-28 4th International Workshop on Computational Intelligence in Economics and Finance (CIEF'2005), Salt Lake City, 05/07/21-26 Epigenetic Robotics, Nara, Japan 05/07/22-24 5th Gathering on Biosemiotics, Urbino, Italy, 05/07/22-24 Soc for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences 15th Annual Intl Conf, Denver, CO, USA, 05/08/04-06 North American Computing and Philosophy conference, Corvallis, Oregon, USA, 05/08/04-06 2005 Intl Conf on Natural Computation (ICNC'05), Intl Conf on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD'05), Changsha, China, 05/08/27-29 Summer School on Econophysics and Complexity, Romania, 05/09/02-09 ECAL 2005 - VIIIth European Conference on Artificial Life, Canterbury, Kent, UK, 05/09/05-09 Complexity, Science and Society Conf 2005, Liverpool, UK, 05/09/11-14 Dynamics Of Socio-Economic Systems: A Physics Perspective, Physics Center Bad Honnef, Germany, 05/09/18-24 18th International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF 2005), Salamanca, Spain, 05/09/19-23 Genomics in Context, University of Exeter, UK, 05/09/28-30 CSDS-2005 Intl Conf on CONTROL AND SYNCHRONIZATION OF DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS , Leon, Guanajuato, MEXICO, 05/10/04-07 Traffic and Granular Flow", Berlin, Germany, 05/10/10-12 Intl Congress of Nanotechnology 2005, San Francisco, USA, 05/10/31-11/04 5th Intl Workshop on Meta-synthesis and Complex System, Kobe, 05/11/14-17 (MCS'05 is also as a symposium of the [74] 1st World Congress of International Federation for Systems Research) European Conference on Complex Systems, Paris, France, 05/11/14-18 Econophysics Colloquium, Canberra (ANU), 05/11/14-18 3rd International Complexity Science and Educational Research Conference, Robert, Louisiana, 05/11/20-22, see also: Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, Inaugural issue - Free Online Access Systems Thinking and Complexity Science: Insights for Action, , 11th Ann ANZSYS Conf/Managing the Complex V Christchurch, New Zealand, 05/12/05-07 2005 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Security (CIS'2005), Hong Kong, China, 05/12/15-19 The Second International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced Information Technology , Senri Life Science Center, Osaka, Japan, 06/01/26-27 FRACTAL 2006 Complexity and Fractals in Nature, 9th Intl Multidisciplinary Conf, Vienna, Austria, 06/02/12-15 [73] http://www.expo2005.com/expo_facts.htm Target=new [74] http://ifsr2005.jtbcom.co.jp/ target=new _________________________________________________________________ 20.04. Call for Papers IEEE Intelligent Systems, Special Issue on Self-Management through Self-Organization in Information Systems, , Submissions due 05/09/02 _________________________________________________________________ [75]Complexity Digest is an independent publication available to organizations that may wish to repost ComDig to their own mailing lists. ComDig is published by the [76]Computer Sciences Department, [77]IIMAS and the [78]C3 at the [79]Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and edited by [80]Carlos Gershenson. To unsubscribe from this list, please go to http://comdig.unam.mx/subscriptions.php [75] http://comdig.unam.mx/ [76] http://turing.iimas.unam.mx/En/index.html [77] http://www.iimas.unam.mx/ [78] http://c3.fisica.unam.mx/ [79] http://www.unam.mx [80] http://turing.iimas.unam.mx/~cgg/