[tt] Complexity Digest 2007.34 (text version -2)
Eugen Leitl
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Fri Sep 7 14:15:03 UTC 2007
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Subject: Complexity Digest 2007.34 (text version -2)
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Complexity Digest 2007.34 06-Sept-2007
Archive: [1]http://www.comdig.org, European Mirror: [2]http://www.comdig.de
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"I think the next century will be the century of complexity." Stephen
Hawking, 2000
_________________________________________________________________
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www.comdig.de/AnnualEditions.html
A letter from Gottfried Mayer to our readers and friends is at
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_________________________________________________________________
01. Market Takes A Gamble On Carbon Futures, Nature
01.01. Impact Of Fraud On The Mean-Field Dynamics Of Cooperative Social
Systems, APS
02. Coexistence of Social Norms based on In- and Out-group Interactions, arXiv
02.01. Dynamics of Opinions and Social Structures, arXiv
03. Writing With Pictures: Toward A Unifying Theory Of Consumer Response To
Images, Innovations-report
03.01. Sales Prices: How Right Digits Affect Perception of Discounts,
ScienceDaily
04. Early Urban Development in the Near East, Science
04.01. Archaeology: Murder in Mesopotamia?, Science
05. Whose Business Is The Business Climate?, Bangor Daily News
06. Researchers Find "Tall" Gene, dBTechno News
06.01. Scientists Discover Height Gene, BBC News
07. Ethiopian Plateau Formation Coincided With Climate Change That May Have
Spurred Human Evolution, ScienceDaily
07.01. Towards a Physics of Evolution: Critical Diversity Dynamics at the Edges
of Collapse and Bursts of Diversification
07.02. Mobility Promotes And Jeopardizes Biodiversity In Rock-Paper-Scissors
Games, Nature
08. Urban Birds Have Broader Environmental Tolerance, Biol. Lett.
08.01. The Emergence Of A Sense Of Orientation, ScienceDaily
09. Molecular Biology: Damage Control, Nature
10. Organic Chemistry: Synthesis Mimics Natural Craftsmanship, Science
10.01. Epoxide-Opening Cascades Promoted by Water, Science
10.02. Heavy Water, NY Times
11. Ecology: Doing Battle With the Green Monster of Taihu Lake, Science
11.01. Chaotic Oscillations And Cycles In Multi-Trophic Ecological Systems, J.
Theor. Biol.
12. Reflecting Symmetry, PhysicsWorld.com
12.01. Structure or Noise?, SFI Working Papers
13. Theoretical Physics: A Black Hole Full Of Answers, Nature
13.01. Stringscape, PhysicsWorld.com
14. Physics In The Cell: Spring Theory, Nature
15. Diamond Stabilization Of Ice Multilayers At Human Body Temperature, APS
15.01. Warm Ice Could Improve Medical Implants, PhysicsWorld.com
16. Teaching Computers To Read Minds, Technology Review
17. Software Via The Internet: Microsoft In 'Cloud' Computing, NY Times
18. I.B.M. Researchers Advancing Computer Processing Ability, NY Times
18.01. IBM Measures Single-Atom Memory, Molecular Switch, EE Times
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.01. Global Warning: Terror's Changing Face, The Age
19.02. Intelligence Reform: The Logic Of Information Sharing, Intelligence &
National Security
19.03. Center First Gives Way to Center Last - Have you noticed the change in
the Iraq debate?, NY Times
20. Links & Snippets
20.01. Other Publications
20.02. Webcast Announcements
20.03. Conference Announcements
20.04. Other Announcements
_________________________________________________________________
01. Market Takes A Gamble On Carbon Futures , Nature
Excerpts: Business is booming on Europe's emissions market. The global carbon
market is far busier this year than last, according to figures released this
month. Around 1.2 gigatonnes of carbon - worth 15.8 billion (US$21.4 billion) -
were traded worldwide in the first half of 2007, primarily on the European Unio
n
(EU) Emissions Trading Scheme, according to analysts at carbon-market
consultants Point Carbon in Oslo, Norway. Last year saw a mere 22.5 billion
change hands all year. But another Point Carbon analysis points out that the
infant US market of ten northeastern states looks to be planning too many
initial allowances.
* [4] Market Takes A Gamble On Carbon Futures, Emma Marris, 07/08/30, DOI:
10.1038/448974b, Nature 448, 974-975
[4] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/full/448974b.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.01. Impact Of Fraud On The Mean-Field Dynamics Of Cooperative Social Systems
, APS
Excerpts: The evolution of costly cooperation between selfish individuals seems
to contradict Darwinian selection, as it reduces the fitness of a cooperating
individual. However, several mechanisms such as repeated interactions or
spatial structure can lead to the evolution of cooperation. One such mechanism
for the evolution of cooperation, in particular among humans, is indirect
reciprocity, in which individuals base their decision to cooperate on the
reputation of the potential receiver, which has been established in previous
interactions.
* [5] Impact Of Fraud On The Mean-Field Dynamics Of Cooperative Social Systems,
Torsten R?hl, Claudia R?hl, Heinz Georg Schuster, Arne Traulsen, 07/08/27,
Phys. Rev. E 76, 026114
[5] http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRE/v76/e026114
_________________________________________________________________
02. Coexistence of Social Norms based on In- and Out-group Interactions , arXiv
Excerpt: The question how social norms can emerge from microscopic interactions
between individuals is a key problem in social sciences to explain collective
behavior. In this paper we propose an agent-based model to show that randomly
distributed social behavior by way of local interaction converges to a state
with a multimodal distribution of behavior. This can be interpreted as a
coexistence of different social norms, a result that goes beyond previous
investigations.
* [6] Coexistence of Social Norms based on In- and Out-group Interactions,
Thomas Fent, Patrick Groeber, Frank Schweitzer, 2007/08/30, DOI: 0708.4155,
arXiv [ACS - Advances in Complex Systems, vol. 10, no. 2 (2007), pp. 271-286]
* Contributed by [7] Carlos Gershenson
[6] http://uk.arXiv.org/abs/0708.4155
[7] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
02.01. Dynamics of Opinions and Social Structures , arXiv
Excerpt: Social groups with widely different music tastes, political
convictions, and religious beliefs emerge and disappear on scales from extreme
subcultures to mainstream mass-cultures. Both the underlying social structure
and the formation of opinions are dynamic and changes in one affect the other.
Several positive feedback mechanisms have been proposed to drive the diversity
in social and economic systems, but little effort has been devoted to pinpoint
the interplay between a dynamically changing social network and the spread and
gathering of information on the network.
* [8] Dynamics of Opinions and Social Structures, M. Rosvall, K. Sneppen,
2007/08/02, DOI: 0708.0368, arXiv
* Contributed by [9] Carlos Gershenson
[8] http://uk.arXiv.org/abs/0708.0368
[9] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
03. Writing With Pictures: Toward A Unifying Theory Of Consumer Response To
Images , Innovations-report
Excerpts: A new paper (...) argues that images in contemporary consumer culture
are an emergent form of writing. (...) their premise is that mass communication
s
technology has created a "cultural classroom" in which the world's first
democratic pictography has developed. They support this argument with a series
of experiments that demonstrate contemporary consumers' ability to read
pictures - even abstract images - as statements of product features. "The idea
that pictures in commercial communication operate as writing is consistent with
the world record, no matter how counterintuitive the notion may first seem,"
write (...).
* [10] Writing With Pictures: Toward A Unifying Theory Of Consumer Response To
Images, 2007/08/31, Innovations-report
* Contributed by [11] Atin Das
[10] http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/studies/report-89788.html
[11] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
03.01. Sales Prices: How Right Digits Affect Perception of Discounts ,
ScienceDaily
Excerpts: The amount of the discount may be less important than the numerical
value of the farthest right digit, explains a new study (...) identify a visual
distortion effect that may influence how consumers look at sale prices. The
researchers show that "right-digit effect" influences consumer perception of
sale prices. When the right digits are small, people perceive the discount to
be larger than when the right digits are large. In other words, an item on sale
for $211 from the original price of $222 is thought to be a better deal than an
item on sale for $188 from an original price of $199, (...).
* [12] Sales Prices: How Right Digits Affect Perception of Discounts,
2007/09/01, ScienceDaily & University of Chicago Press Journals
* Contributed by [13] Atin Das
[12] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829122925.htm
[13] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
04. Early Urban Development in the Near East , Science
Excerpts: It has been thought that the first cities in the Near East were
spatially extensive and grew outward from a core nucleated village while
maintaining a more or less constant density in terms of persons or households
per unit of area. The general applicability outside of the Near East of this
southern Mesopotamian.derived model has been questioned recently, and
variations from it are increasingly recognized. We can now demonstrate that
such variation was present at the beginnings of urbanism in the Near East as
well.
* [14] Early Urban Development in the Near East, Jason A. Ur, Philip
Karsgaard, Joan Oates, 07/08/31, DOI: 10.1126/science.1138728, Science 317
(5842), 1188
[14] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;317/5842/1188
_________________________________________________________________
04.01. Archaeology: Murder in Mesopotamia? , Science
Excerpts: A close examination of the surrounding area reveals settlement in the
period of 4200 to 3900 B.C.E. extending over an astonishing 55 hectares, an
order of magnitude larger than other settlements of the time. During the first
half of the 4th millennium B.C.E., Brak had more than doubled in size and its
population density also increased. Only one city in southern
Mesopotamia--Uruk--was likely larger in this era. And unlike Uruk, which was
densely populated primarily in the center, early Brak appears to have featured
various clusters of neighborhoods separated by open space.
* [15] Archaeology: Murder in Mesopotamia?, Andrew Lawler, 07/08/31, Science :
1164-1165.
[15] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5842/1164
_________________________________________________________________
05. Whose Business Is The Business Climate? , Bangor Daily News
Excerpts: In the quarter century since Ronald Reagan crushed the air traffic
controllers' strike, and precipitated a dramatic decline in private sector
unionization, economic inequality has grown. Productivity increases, strangely
enough, have lagged behind those of the 1945-1975 period. Economists have no
conclusive explanation for this, but it is worth noting, as Sam Bowles,
director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute has
pointed out, that with growing inequality in America has come a spiraling need
for guard labor.
* [16] Whose Business Is The Business Climate?, John Buell, 07/09/04, Bangor
Daily News
[16] http://bangordailynews.com/news/templates/?a=153844&z=67
_________________________________________________________________
06. Researchers Find "Tall" Gene , dBTechno News
Excerpts: A team of scientists from Britain and the U.S. are on a high
today as they have identified the first gene directly linked to a persons
height, according to media reports Monday. Examining DNA from 35,000 people,
the researchers found that just one single letter in the human genetic code is
likely responsible for making someone short, or tall, researchers said.
Scientists believe that inheriting a form of the gene HMGA2 that also carries
the letter C in the genetic code instead of T will add a quarter of an inch in
height. Two copies of the gene can result in a height increase of 2 inches.
* [17] Researchers Find "Tall" Gene, 07/09/03, dBTechno News
[17] http://www.dbtechno.com/science/2007/09/03/researchers-find-tall-gene/
_________________________________________________________________
06.01. Scientists Discover Height Gene , BBC News
Excerpts: Taller people are statistically more likely to be at risk from
prostate, bladder and lung cancer. This suggests that the genes that regulate
cell growth and division may also play a role in the uncontrolled cell
proliferation characteristic of cancer. (...) "Because height is a complex
trait, involving a variety of genetic and non-genetic factors, it can teach us
valuable lessons about the genetic framework of other complex traits, such as
diabetes, cancer and other common human diseases."
* [18] Scientists Discover Height Gene, 07/09/03, BBC News
[18] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6975865.stm
_________________________________________________________________
07. Ethiopian Plateau Formation Coincided With Climate Change That May Have
Spurred Human Evolution , ScienceDaily
Excerpt: More than three million years ago, early hominins evolved the ability
to walk upright and in doing so started us along the evolutionary path that
eventually gave rise to Homo sapiens. It was Darwin who first suggested that a
change of climate, giving rise to vast, arid, savannahs, may have spurred on
human evolution all those millions of years ago. But what caused that change of
climate? Could the formation of one of Earth's most spectacular landscapes, the
Ethiopian Plateau, have been responsible for development of the great African
grasslands? And if so, what were the geological processes (...).
* [19] Ethiopian Plateau Formation Coincided With Climate Change That May Have
Spurred Human Evolution, 2007/08/31, ScienceDaily & Geological Society of
America
* Contributed by [20] Atin Das
[19] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070828162834.htm
[20] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
07.01. Towards a Physics of Evolution: Critical Diversity Dynamics at the Edges
of Collapse and Bursts of Diversification
Excerpt: Systems governed the standard mechanisms of biological or
technological evolution are often described by catalytic evolution equations.
We study the structure of these equations and find an analogy with classical
thermodynamic systems. In particular we can demonstrate the existence of
several distinct phases of evolutionary dynamics: a phase of fast growing
diversity, one of stationary, finite diversity, and one of rapidly decaying
diversity. While the first two phases have been subject to previous work, here
we focus on the destructive aspects ?in particular the phase diagram ?of
evolutionary dynamics. The main message is that within a critical region
massive loss of diversity can be triggered by very small external fluctuations.
* [21] Towards a Physics of Evolution: Critical Diversity Dynamics at the Edges
of Collapse and Bursts of Diversification, Rudolf Hanel, Stuart A. Kauffman, an
d
Stefan Thurner, DOI: SFI-WP 07-08-027
* Contributed by [22] Carlos Gershenson
[21] http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/wpabstract/200708027
[22] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
07.02. Mobility Promotes And Jeopardizes Biodiversity In Rock-Paper-Scissors
Games , Nature
Excerpts: Biodiversity is essential to the viability of ecological systems.
Species diversity in ecosystems is promoted by cyclic, non-hierarchical
interactions among competing populations. Central features of such
non-transitive relations are represented by the 'rock-paper-scissors' game,
(...). In combination with spatial dispersal of static populations, this type
of competition results in the stable coexistence of all species and the
long-term maintenance of biodiversity. However, population mobility is a
central feature of real ecosystems: animals migrate, bacteria run and tumble.
Here, we observe a critical influence of mobility on species diversity.
* [23] Mobility Promotes And Jeopardizes Biodiversity In Rock-Paper-Scissors
Games, Tobias Reichenbach, Mauro Mobilia, Erwin Frey, 07/08/30, DOI:
10.1038/nature06095, Nature 448, 1046-1049
[23] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/full/nature06095.html
_________________________________________________________________
08. Urban Birds Have Broader Environmental Tolerance , Biol. Lett.
Excerpt: Urbanization dramatically changes the composition and diversity of
biotic communities. The characteristics distinguishing species that persist in
urban environments, however, are poorly understood. Here we test the hypothesis
that broadly adapted organisms are better able to tolerate urbanization, using
a
phylogenetically controlled, global comparison of birds. We compared elevationa
l
and latitudinal distributions of 217 urban birds found in 73 of the world's
largest cities with distributions of 247 rural congeners to test the hypothesis
that urban birds possess broader environmental tolerance. Urban birds had
markedly broader environmental tolerance than rural congeners, (...).
* [24] Urban Birds Have Broader Environmental Tolerance, F. Bonier , P. R.
Martin , J. C. Wingfield, 2007/08/31, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0349, Biological
Letters
* Contributed by [25] Atin Das
[24]
http://www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk/content/j13608333053240l/?p=09e50d23abf84002
a6c00feb564a79fd&pi=0
[25] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
08.01. The Emergence Of A Sense Of Orientation , ScienceDaily
Excerpts: To orient ourselves, we mainly need two pieces of information: where
am I and in which direction am I heading? Experiments in the rat have shown
that these types of information are directly accessible and independently coded
in the brain. When the rat explores a new territory, so-called place cells and
head direction cells form within only a few minutes. Place cells are active
when the rat visits a particular area, no matter which direction it is facing.
In contrast, head direction cells code the direction the rat is heading, (...).
Also humans presumably have these and other types of cells (...).
* [26] The Emergence Of A Sense Of Orientation, 2007/08/31, ScienceDaily &
Public Library of Science
* Contributed by [27] Atin Das
[26] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070831093937.htm
[27] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
09. Molecular Biology: Damage Control , Nature
Excerpts: The chemical composition of normal DNA at the end of chromosomes does
not differ from that of damaged and broken DNA within chromosomes. New findings
hint at how the DNA-repair machinery distinguishes the two. The maintenance of
genome integrity is crucial for the survival of every organism. So even a
single break along a chromosome triggers a molecular signalling cascade that
leads to an appropriate DNA-damage response (DDR). This response allows
recognition of the damage site and decelerates cell-cycle progression, giving
the cell a chance to repair the damage.
* [28] Molecular Biology: Damage Control, Claus M. Azzalin, Joachim Lingner,
07/08/30, DOI: 10.1038/4481001a, Nature 448, 1001-1002
[28] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/full/4481001a.html
_________________________________________________________________
10. Organic Chemistry: Synthesis Mimics Natural Craftsmanship , Science
Excerpts: When it comes to making complex molecules, microbes are nature's
master craftsmen. (...) Take a class of long, ladderlike toxins, such as those
made by marine microbes called dinoflagellates that are responsible for
fish-killing "red tides." (...) create the compounds by launching a cascade of
reactions that break apart a series of small molecular rings as the first step
to adding successive rungs to the ladder. The trouble is that synthetic
chemists have never managed to create these cascades in water, leaving them to
wonder whether it's truly the way the dinoflagellates do it.
* [29] Organic Chemistry: Synthesis Mimics Natural Craftsmanship, Robert F.
Service, 07/08/31, Science : 1157.
[29] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5842/1157a
_________________________________________________________________
10.01. Epoxide-Opening Cascades Promoted by Water , Science
Excerpts: Selectivity rules in organic chemistry have been inferred largely
from nonaqueous environments. In contrast, enzymes operate in water, and the
chemical effect of the medium change remains only partially understood.
Structural characterization of the "ladder" polyether marine natural products
raised a puzzle that persisted for 20 years: Although the stereochemistry of
adjacent tetrahydropyran (THP) cycles would seem to arise from a biosynthetic
cascade of epoxide-opening reactions, experience in organic solvents argued
consistently that such a pathway would be kinetically disfavored.
* [30] Epoxide-Opening Cascades Promoted by Water, Ivan Vilotijevic , Timothy
F. Jamison, 07/08/31, Science : 1189-1192.
[30] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5842/1189
_________________________________________________________________
10.02. Heavy Water , NY Times
Excerpts: This onslaught of "living pollution" has been particularly apparent
and - in the case of viral hemorrhagic septicemia - gruesome this year. But
it's not new. For decades, the people living along our coastlines have
struggled to eradicate or contain foreign plants, animals and microorganisms
that enter the United States by the billions each year via international
shipping vessels. The annual cost to the United States of attempting to
control aquatic invaders is about $9 billion. That number will continue to
rise, as will the rate of new invasive species, unless federal, state and local
governments work together to regulate their primary source: ballast water(...)
* [31] Heavy Water, Henry L. Henderson, 07/09/04, NYTimes
[31] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/opinion/04henderson.html
_________________________________________________________________
11. Ecology: Doing Battle With the Green Monster of Taihu Lake , Science
Excerpts: With global temperatures rising, warmer surface water leads to less
mixing, which favors the growth of toxic cyanobacteria. Deciphering the toxins'
biological role and how the environment influences their production may suggest
strategies for making blooms less venomous, (...). Cyanobacteria have a long
history of acquiring remarkable adaptations, such as nitrogen fixation and gas
vesicles that keep them afloat and enable them to outcompete diatoms and green
algae for light and nutrients.
* [32] Ecology: Doing Battle With the Green Monster of Taihu Lake, Lucie Guo,
07/08/31, Science: 1166.
[32] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5842/1166
_________________________________________________________________
11.01. Chaotic Oscillations And Cycles In Multi-Trophic Ecological Systems , J.
Theor. Biol.
Excerpt: A set of multi-trophic population models are described, all of which
yield an interesting form of chaotic dynamics-namely, the populations cycle in
a periodic fashion, yet the peak abundance within each cycle is erratic and
irregular over time. Since there are many ecological and biological systems
that are characterized with this same form of "uniform phase-growth and chaotic
amplitude (UPCA)," these models should be useful in a range of applications. We
discuss their relevance to the well-known Canadian hare-lynx system, and other
small mammal foodwebs which together comprise wildlife's unusual "four and ten
year cycle." (...)
* [33] Chaotic Oscillations And Cycles In Multi-Trophic Ecological Systems, L.
Stone , D. He, Sep. 2007, online 2007/05/25, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2007.05.023,
Journal of Theoretical Biology
* Contributed by [34] Pritha Das
[33]
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WMD-4NTJH5X-2&_user=
10&_coverDate=09%2F21%2F2007&_rdoc=19&_fmt=summary&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info(
%23toc%236932%232007%23997519997%23666435%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=6932&_
sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=20&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&
md5=1d231fc069e2782cfe2038b502560bdd
[34] mailto:prithadas01 at yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
12. Reflecting Symmetry , PhysicsWorld.com
Excerpts: Symmetry is central to modern physics. Source: Bahman
Kalantari/Science Photo Library Book report on: Why Beauty is Truth, Ian
Stewart, 2007 Basic Books Albert Einstein was the first physicist to think in
the modern style of symmetry, and Stewart covers the development and
implications of special and general relativity through their underlying
symmetry principles. Today, group theory underlies the Standard Model of
particle physics through the concept of local gauge invariance. However, the
book underplays the famous theorem of the German mathematician Emmy Noether
that connects symmetry to conservation laws, and which Einstein and David
Hilbert so championed.
* [35] Reflecting Symmetry, Christopher T Hill, 07/09/03, PhysicsWorld.com
[35] http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/30922
_________________________________________________________________
12.01. Structure or Noise? , SFI Working Papers
Abstract: We show how theory building can naturally distinguish between
regularity and randomness. Starting from basic modeling principles, using rate
distortion theory and computational mechanics we argue for a general
information-theoretic objective function that embodies a trade-off between a
model's complexity and its predictive power. The family of solutions derived
from this principle corresponds to a hierarchy of models. At each level of
complexity, they achieve maximal predictive power, identifying a process's
exact causal organization in the limit of optimal prediction. Examples show how
theory building can profit from analyzing a process's causal compressibility,
which is reflected in the optimal models' rate-distortion curve.
* [36] Structure or Noise?, Susanne Still and James P. Crutchfield, DOI: SFI-WP
07-08-020, SFI Working Papers
* Contributed by [37] Carlos Gershenson
[36] http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/wpabstract/200708020
[37] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
13. Theoretical Physics: A Black Hole Full Of Answers , Nature
Excerpts: A facet of string theory, the currently favoured route to a 'theory
of everything', might help to explain some properties of exotic matter phases -
such as some peculiarities of high-temperature superconductors. How are heat an
d
charge transported within a high-temperature superconductor? And what happens
when heavy nuclei are torn apart to make the soup of elementary particles known
as a quark-gluon plasma?
* [38] Theoretical Physics: A Black Hole Full Of Answers, Jan Zaanen, 07/08/30,
DOI: 10.1038/4481000a, Nature 448, 1000-1001
[38] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/full/4481000a.html
_________________________________________________________________
13.01. Stringscape , PhysicsWorld.com
Excerpts: Source: Photolibrary In its near 40-year history, string
theory has gone from a theory of hadrons to a theory of everything to,
possibly, a theory of nothing. Indeed, modern string theory is not even a
theory of strings but one of higher-dimensional objects called branes. Matthew
Chalmers attempts to disentangle the immense theoretical framework that is
string theory, and reveals a world of mind-bending ideas, tangible successes
and daunting challenges - most of which, perhaps surprisingly, are rooted in
experimental data.
* [39] Stringscape, 07/09/03, PhysicsWorld.com
[39] http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/30940
_________________________________________________________________
14. Physics In The Cell: Spring Theory , Nature
Excerpts: Spring theory, as he calls it, might help explain a phenomenon he is
deeply interested in - how the tiny biochemical machinery of the cell can
manage billions of bits of information stored on vast polymer strings that need
to be read, copied and packaged into an incredibly small space. In the cartoon
models that illustrate textbooks on cell- and molecular biology, purposeful
proteins orchestrate neat, stepwise molecular dances as they react to coloured
blobs and bind a perfect DNA staircase.
* [40] Physics In The Cell: Spring Theory, Brendan Maher, 07/08/30, DOI:
10.1038/448984a, Nature 448, 984-986
[40] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/full/448984a.html
_________________________________________________________________
15. Diamond Stabilization Of Ice Multilayers At Human Body Temperature , APS
Excerpts: Diamond is a promising material for wear-resistant medical coatings.
Here we report a remarkable increase in the melting point of ice resting on a
diamond (111) surface modified with a submonolayer of Na+. Our molecular
dynamics simulations show that the interfacial ice bilayer melts at a
temperature 130 K higher than in free ice, and relatively thick ice films (2.6
nm at 298 K and 2.2 nm at 310 K) are stabilized by dipole interactions with the
substrate. This unique physical effect may enable biocompatibility-enhancing ic
e
overcoatings for diamond at human body temperature.
* [41] Diamond Stabilization Of Ice Multilayers At Human Body Temperature,
Alexander D. Wissner-Gross, Efthimios Kaxiras, 07/08/27, Phys. Rev. E 76,
020501(R)
[41] http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRE/v76/e020501
_________________________________________________________________
15.01. Warm Ice Could Improve Medical Implants , PhysicsWorld.com
Excerpts: Simulations suggest ice forms on modified diamond at body temperature
Warm ice could improve medical implants Ice melts at 0 oC, right? Not
necessarily, according to Alexander Wissner-Gross and Efthimios Kaxiras at
Harvard University in the US. The pair used computer simulations to show that
diamond surfaces implanted with sodium atoms can sustain very thin layers of
ice at temperatures up to 37 oC. The frosty covering could help to make
artificial medical implants more compatible inside the human body, say the
researchers
* [42] Warm Ice Could Improve Medical Implants, 07/09/03, PhysicsWorld.com
[42] http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/31004
_________________________________________________________________
16. Teaching Computers To Read Minds , Technology Review
Excerpts: Credit: Robbie McClaran A subject using Tan's system spends 10
to 20 minutes performing a series of tasks that require either high or low
concentration--such as remembering letters or images for various amounts of
time. EEG readings taken during the activity are fed to a computer, which
manipulates them mathematically to generate thousands of derivations called
"features." The machine- learning algorithm then sifts through the features,
identifying patterns that reliably indicate the subject's concentration level
when the data was collected.
* [43] Teaching Computers To Read Minds, Kate Greene, 07/09, Technology Review
[43] http://https://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=629
_________________________________________________________________
17. Software Via The Internet: Microsoft In 'Cloud' Computing , NY Times
Excerpts: James C. Best Jr. This week, it [Microsoft, Ed.] plans to
turn that strategy upside down, making available free software that connects
its Windows operating system to software services delivered on the Internet, a
practice increasingly referred to as "cloud" computing. The initiative is part
of an effort to connect Windows more seamlessly to a growing array of Internet
services. The strategy is a major departure for Microsoft, which primarily
sells packaged software for personal computers. With this new approach,
Microsoft hopes to shield its hundreds of millions of software customers from
competitors like Google and Salesforce.com, which already offer software
applications through the Internet.
* [44] Software Via The Internet: Microsoft In 'Cloud' Computing, John Markoff,
07/09/03, NY Times
[44] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/technology/03cloud.html
_________________________________________________________________
18. I.B.M. Researchers Advancing Computer Processing Ability , NY Times
Excerpts: An illustration of I.B.M.'s technique for storing data on a
single atom. An iron atom on a copper surface could store a single bit of
binary data, with "0" or "1" indicated by the orientation of the atom's
magnetic field. Researchers at I.B.M. laboratories say they have made
progress toward storing information and computing at the level of individual
atoms. The scientists documented their work in two papers appearing on Friday
in the journal Science. Both papers are focused on new understanding of the
behavior of magnetism at the tiny scale of nanotechnology, where scientists
hope to develop electronics made from components that are far smaller than
today's transistors and wires.
* [45] I.B.M. Researchers Advancing Computer Processing Ability, John Markoff,
07/08/31, NYTimes
[45] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/technology/31ibm.html
_________________________________________________________________
18.01. IBM Measures Single-Atom Memory, Molecular Switch , EE Times
Excerpts: Artist rendering of two cross-shaped molecules that can be turned
on (left) or off (right) by reorienting the two hydrogen atoms (white) in the
center of the molecule. Even the highest density hard-disk drives use
approximately 1 million magnetic atoms to store a single bit of information.
IBM's Almaden Research Center (San Jose, Calif.) has measured the ability to
store a bit on a single atom, portending hard drives with ultra-high storage
capacity. Simultaneously, IBM's Zurich Research Lab has demonstrated a
molecular switch that could replace current silicon-based chip technology with
processors so small that a supercomputer could fit on a chip the size of a
speck of dust.
* [46] IBM Measures Single-Atom Memory, Molecular Switch, R. Colin Johnson,
07/08/30, EE Times
[46] http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803169
_________________________________________________________________
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
_________________________________________________________________
19.01. Global Warning: Terror's Changing Face , The Age
Excerpts: "The key terrorist threat today is that al-Qaeda has regrouped and
reorganised from the setbacks we inflicted on it immediately after 9/11 and
Afghanistan and is once again capable of carrying out terrorist attacks on a
global canvas," he told The Age. "We shifted our focus from the struggle
against al-Qaeda in South Asia to invading Iraq in 2003 and subsequently became
pre-occupied, first with the escalating insurgency and then as the country
became submerged in civil war.
* [47] Global Warning: Terror's Changing Face, Daniel Flitton, 07/08/25, The
Age
[47]
http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/global-warning-terrors-changing-face/200
7/08/24/1187462520233.html
_________________________________________________________________
19.02. Intelligence Reform: The Logic Of Information Sharing , Intelligence &
National Security
Excerpt: A cornerstone of US intelligence reform is 'information sharing' as a
means of adapting to contemporary security challenges. It was a central
recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, reflected in the wide-ranging
'Information Sharing Environment' mandated by the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Yet the underlying logic of information
sharing for intelligence reform has received little attention. Drawing on
information and communications theory, this paper critiques the logic by
highlighting problems of sense-making and interpretation overlooked amid the
scholarly enthusiasm for an intelligence 'culture of sharing'. (...)
* [48] Intelligence Reform: The Logic Of Information Sharing, [49] G. C. P.
Innocentini, [50] J. E. M. Hornos, Jun. 2007, DOI: 10.1007/s00285-007-0090-x,
Intelligence & National Security
* Contributed by [51] Pritha Das
[48]
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a781177224~db=all~order=page
[49] mailto:innocentini at ursa.ifsc.usp.br
[50] mailto:hornos at ifsc.usp.br
[51] mailto:prithadas01 at yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
19.03. Center First Gives Way to Center Last - Have you noticed the change in
the Iraq debate? , NY Times
Excerpts: As Iraqi national politics stagnated, the tribes began to take the
initiative. The process started in Anbar Province, when the local tribes
revolted against Al Qaeda. It has continued in Diyala Province and even in
Baghdad neighborhoods like Ameriya. In the South, moderate Shiite parties have
begun to resist the Sadrists, while in many places local groups that look like
mafia families struggle to impose order on their turf. In other words, organic
local actors - some thuggish, some not - have begun to impose a security
structure on parts of the country.
* [52] Center First Gives Way to Center Last - Have you noticed the change in
the Iraq debate?, David Brooks, 07/09/04, NYTimes
[52] http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/opinion/04brooks.html
_________________________________________________________________
20. Links & Snippets
_________________________________________________________________
20.01. Other Publications
- Aggregate Dynamics in an Evolutionary Network Model, 2007/08/30, arXiv, DOI:
0708.4212
- Embassy Email Details Posted Online: More Than 100 Government Email Accounts
Left Wide Open, 2007/08/31, vnunet.com
- An End To Snobbery? Study Finds That Ordinary People Have Surprisingly 'Good
Taste', 2007/08/31, Innovations-report
- Advance In Effort To Fight Malaria By Tricking The Mosquito's Sense Of Smell,
2007/08/31, Innovations-report
- Children Stressed Six Months Before Starting School, 2007/08/31,
Innovations-report
- Genetic And Environmental Contributions To Prosocial Behaviour In 2- To
9-Year-Old South Korean Twins, 2007/08/28, Biological Letters, DOI:
10.1098/rsbl.2007.0365
- Songbirds Use Pulse Tone Register In Two Voices To Generate Low-Frequency
Sound, 2007/08/28, Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, DOI:
10.1098/rspb.2007.0781
- Gender And Handedness Influences On Monkeys' Brains Similar To Humans,
2007/08/29, ScienceDaily & Hiram College
- Complexity Of An Ivlev's Predator-Prey Model With Pulse, Jun. 2007, Advances
in Complex Systems, DOI: 10.1142/S0219525907001021
- Fractal Characterization Of Fermentations With Budding Yeast Under
Deterministic And Chaotic Conditions, Jun. 2007, Fractals, DOI:
10.1142/S0218348X07003502
- Efficiency Of Competitions, 07/08/13, Phys. Rev. E 76, 026106
- Nonlinear Adaptive Wavelet Analysis Of Electrocardiogram Signals, 07/08/22,
Phys. Rev. E 76, 02621
- Theory Of The Nernst Effect Near Quantum Phase Transitions In Condensed
Matter, And In Dyonic Black Holes, 07/07/16, arXiv:0706.3215
- Structural Biology: Getting Dna To Unwind, 07/08/31, Science : 1181-1182.
- Structural Basis of DNA Replication Origin Recognition by an ORC Protein,
07/08/31, Science : 1213-1216. The DNA-bound structures of two protein factors
that initiate DNA replication in archaea show how they dramatically deform the
DNA duplex, priming it for unwinding.
- Materials Science: Polymer Therapeutics, 07/08/31, Science : 1182-1183. (...)
the physical properties of polymers can offer distinct advantages critical for
treating human disease, including improved drug targeting and circulation,
(...).
- Localization of a Stable Neural Correlate of Associative Memory, 07/08/31,
Science : 1230-1233. The neurons activated in the amygdala when a mouse learns
to fear a particular location are also activated when the mouse recalls that
fear.
_________________________________________________________________
20.02. Webcast Announcements
[53]
Reseau Nationale des Systemes Complexes , (in French), 2007
[54] World Economic Forum , Davos, Switzerland, 07/01/24-28
TED Talks, TED Conferences LLC , since 2006
Talking Robots: The PodCast on Robotics and AI, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne, Switzerland, 06/11/03
Potentials of Complexity Science for Business, Governments, and the Media 2006,
Budapest, Hungary, 06/08/03-05
6th Intl Conf on Complex Systems (ICCS), Boston, MA, 06/06/25-30
Artificial Life X,
10th Intl Conf on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems, Bloomington,
IN, USA. 2006/06/03-07
6th Understanding Complex Systems Symposium, Urbana-Champaign, Il, 06/05/15-18
Ralph Abraham on Complexity Digest, , Calcutta, India, 05/12/27
[55] An Afternoon with Michael Crichton, Washington, 05/11/06
[56]
Illuminating the Shadow of the Future, Ann Arbor, Mi 05/09/23-25
[57]
Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems - Brainstorming
Meeting, Paris, France 05/09/19-23
[58]
Complexity, Science & Society Conference 2005, U. Liverpool, UK 2005/09/11-14
[59]
ECAL 2005 - VIIIth European Conference on Artificial Life,
Canterbury, Kent, UK 2005/09/5-9
[60]
T. Irene Sanders, Executive Director and Founder, [61] The Washington Center
for Complexity & Public Policy, 05/08/27, QuickTime video (10:38 min), [62]
Podcast
[63] 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
[64] Understanding Complex Systems - Computational Complexity and
Bioinformatics, Virtual Conference Network, Urbana-Champaign, Il, UIUC,
05/05/16-19
[65] 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
[66]
1st European Conference on Complex Systems, Torino, Italy, 04/12/5-7
>From Autopoiesis to Neurophenomenology: A Tribute to Francisco Varela
(1946-2001), Paris, France, 2004/06/18-20
Evolutionary Epistemology, Language, and Culture, Brussels, Belgium,
04/05/26-28
International Conference on Complex Systems 2004, Boston, 04/05/16-21
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
[53] http://webcast.in2p3.fr/RNSC/ target=new
[54]
http://gaia.world-television.com/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2007/Targe
t=new
[55] http://www.complexsys.org/news.htm target=new
[56] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05ISF/index.html target=new
[57] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ONCECS05/ target=new
[58] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/CSS05/ target=new
[59] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ECAL2005/ target=new
[60] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders0508.mov target=new
[61] http://www.complexsys.org/ target=new
[62] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders.mp3
[63] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05NASPSA/ target=new
[64] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05UCS/ target=new
[65] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/Nicolis05/Target=new
[66] http://www.comdig2.de/Conf/ECCS04/Target=new
_________________________________________________________________
20.03. Conference Announcements
ECAL 2007 - 9th European Conference on Artificial Life
, Lisbon, Portugal, 07/09/10-14
ECAL 2007 Workshop on Machine Epigenesis , Lisbon, Portugal, 07/09/10
Itl. Conf. on Applications in Nonlinear Dynamics, Poipu Beach, Koloa (Kauai),
Hawaii, 07/09/24-27
3rd Edition of the Econophysics Colloquium, Ancona, 07/09/27-29
European Conference on Complex Systems 2007 (ECCS'07) , Dresden, Germany,
07/10/01-05
Genetic Networks: Models, Simulations and their Application to Biology, ECCS
2007 satellite workshop, Dresden, Germany, 07/10/04-05
Processes Of Emergence Of Systems And Systemic Properties.
Towards A General Theory Of Emergence.
, Castel Ivano (Trento), 07/10/18-20
2nd Annual Conf on The Physics, Chemistry and Biology of Water
, West Dover, Vermont. 07/10/18-21
Smithsonian conference, Creating a Sustainable Future
in a Complex World, Washington, DC, 07/10/27
Intl Conf on Complex Systems 2007
, 07/10/28-11/02, Boston, MA, USA
2007 IEEE/WIC/ACM Intl Joint Conf on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent
Technology (WI-IAT'07), Silicon Valley, USA, 07/11/02-05
Theory In Cognitive Neuroscience,
Wildbad Kreuth (Bavaria), Germany, 07/11/04-07
7th Intl Conf on Epigenetic Robotics:
Modeling Cognitive Development in Robotic Systems
, Piscataway, NJ, 07/11/05-07
KSS 2007 - 8th Intl Symposium on Knowledge and Systems Sciences, Ishikawa
prefecture, Japan, 07/11/05-07
NetLogo Workshop at Agent 2007 Conference,
Evanston, IL, USA, 07/11/12-14
Australia New Zealand Systems Conference 2007
Systemic development: Local solutions in a global environment? Auckland, New
Zealand, 07/12/02-05
The 3rd Indian Intl Conf on Artificial Intelligence
(IICAI-07), Pune, INDIA, 07/12/17-19
The 1st Conf on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08), Memphis, Tennessee,
USA, 08/03/01-03
19th European Meeting On Cybernetics And Systems Research, (EMCSR 2008),
Vienna, Austria, 08/03/25-28
>From Animals To Animats 10 - The 10th Intl Conf on the Simulation Of Adaptive
Behavior (SAB'08), Osaka, Japan, 08/07/07-12
Stochastic Resonance 2008, Perugia, Italy, 08/08/17-21
_________________________________________________________________
20.04. Other Announcements
News notes on
Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE)
for July 2007 are now available on-line, 07/08/04
National Humanities Center Launches Humanities/Sciences Website, 07/04, As part
of its ongoing Autonomy, Singularity, Creativity: The Human & The Humanities?pr
oject (ASC), the National Humanities Center makes public a new website for
the initiative which significantly expands the potential pool of humanists and
scientists engaged in the exploration and examination of topics surrounding the
question of human being.
_________________________________________________________________
[67]Complexity Digest is an independent publication available to
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To unsubscribe from this list, please send a note to
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[67] http://www.comdig.org/
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[70] http://www.deanlebaron.com/index.html
[71] http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/x/gxm21/
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