[tt] Complexity Digest 2008.15 (text version -2)
Eugen Leitl
<eugen at leitl.org> on
Fri Apr 11 08:55:54 UTC 2008
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Subject: Complexity Digest 2008.15 (text version -2)
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Complexity Digest 2008.15 09-Apr-2008
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
_________________________________________________________________
PDF files of our annual editions are available at
www.comdig.de/AnnualEditions.html
A letter from Gottfried Mayer to our readers and friends is at
www.comdig.de/GMLetter.html
_________________________________________________________________
01. The Promise of Cancer Research, Science
02. Mismanaged Measures, Nature
02.01. Drug Markers Questioned, Nature
03. The Cancer Biomarker Problem, Nature
03.01. Mining The Plasma Proteome For Cancer Biomarkers, Nature
04. Imaging In The Era Of Molecular Oncology, Nature
05. Tumour Maintenance Is Mediated By eNOS, Nature
06. Mitochondrial Mutations Make Tumors Spread, Science Now
07. Stem Cells Made To Mimic Disease, BBC News
07.01. Feed That Cold! New Study Shows That Lower Food Intake Has A Negative
Effect On Immune System, Innovations-report
08. You, In A Dish - Cultured Human Cells Could Put Lab Animals Out Of Work For
Chemical And Drug Testing, Science News
09. Stochasticity and Cell Fate, Science
10. From ¡¥Understanding The Brain By Creating The Brain¡¦ Towards Manipulative
Neuroscience, Phil. Tran. Biol. Sc.
10.01. Episodic-Like Memory in Rats: Is It Based on When or How Long Ago?,
Science
11. NYU Dental Professor Discovers Biological Clock, Innovations-report
12. A Place In The Sun, Innovations-report
13. 'Darwin Chip' Brings Evolution Into The Classroom, New Scientist
14. Carbon-Trading Market Has Uncertain Future - Clean Development Mechanism
May Be Capped., Nature
15. Quantum Cocoon - Diamonds Are A Physicist's - And Perhaps Quantum
Computing's - Best Friend, Science News
15.01. Newly Discovered 'Superinsulators' Promise To Transform Materials
Research, Electronics Design, PhysOrg.com
16. Music Theory: Creating Musical Variation, Science
17. Hot, Bright, Massive Stars Have Complex Mixing Processes In Their Great
Depths, ScienceDaily
18. Short- And Long-Term Effects Of United Nations Peace Operations, World Bank
Econ. Rev.
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.01. Crackdown on Militias May Add to Instability in Iraq, NY Times
19.02. Building A Legal Framework For Torture, Aljazeera
20. Links & Snippets
20.01. Other Publications
20.02. Webcast Announcements
20.03. Conference Announcements
20.04. Other Announcements
_________________________________________________________________
01. The Promise of Cancer Research , Science
Excerpts: In recent years, I have heard the argument that we already know
enough about fundamental biological mechanisms to cure cancer, and that the
best way to improve cancer outcomes would be to focus nearly all of our cancer
research resources on applying what we know to develop therapies. This would be
a mistake. To make my point, I describe two of many examples where a much deepe
r
understanding of fundamental mechanisms seems almost certain to improve cancer
treatments.
* [4] The Promise of Cancer Research, 08/04/04, Science: 19.
[4] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/19 Bruce Alberts
_________________________________________________________________
02. Mismanaged Measures , Nature
Excerpts: Surrogate end points can be helpful in clinical trials - but only if
they are used with care. "What gets measured, gets managed" is an adage that
doctors know all too well. (...) But every so often, a surrogate deceives, as
in the unexpected results from two recent clinical trials. One found that the
drug ezetimibe, which lowers cholesterol levels, did not seem to slow the
steady march of atherosclerosis in patients with high cholesterol (...). In the
other, one part of the trial was halted when the researchers found that using a
combination of strict diet and insulin to lower diabetics' blood-sugar levels
to those of
* [5] Mismanaged Measures, 08/04/03, DOI: 10.1038/452504a, Nature 452, 504
[5] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/452504a.html
_________________________________________________________________
02.01. Drug Markers Questioned , Nature
Excerpts: A recent spate of worrying clinical-trial data has researchers
questioning drugs approved on the basis of how they affect biomarkers rather
than clinical endpoints. (...) Cancer drugs approved on the basis of a
surrogate marker of tumour size don't always reduce mortality. (...) But others
argued that the body raised blood pressure as a way of mitigating poor vascular
health. The stakes were high: if increased blood pressure was a coping
mechanism, then drugs that lowered it could be harmful.
* [6] Drug Markers Questioned, Heidi Ledford, 08, DOI: 10.1038/452510a, Nature
452, 510-511 (2008)
[6] http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080401/full/452510a.html
_________________________________________________________________
03. The Cancer Biomarker Problem , Nature
Excerpts: Genomic technologies offer the promise of a comprehensive
understanding of cancer. These technologies are being used to characterize
tumours at the molecular level, and several clinical successes have shown that
such information can guide the design of drugs targeted to a relevant molecule.
One of the main barriers to further progress is identifying the biological
indicators, or biomarkers, of cancer that predict who will benefit from a
particular targeted therapy.
* [7] The Cancer Biomarker Problem, Charles L. Sawyers, 08/04/03, DOI:
10.1038/nature06913, Nature 452, 548-552
[7] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06913.html
_________________________________________________________________
03.01. Mining The Plasma Proteome For Cancer Biomarkers , Nature
Excerpts: There is increasing evidence of an immune response to cancer in
humans, as demonstrated in part by the identification of autoantibodies
specific for a number of intracellular and cell-surface antigens detectable in
sera from patients with different cancer types. Clearly, tumours can still
develop in the presence of this antibody-mediated immune response. However, the
identification of a panel of antigenic biomarkers that are tumour-specific and
that elicit immunoreactivity early in tumour development and at a high
frequency would provide an effective strategy for cancer screening.
* [8] Mining The Plasma Proteome For Cancer Biomarkers, Samir M. Hanash,
Sharon J. Pitteri, Vitor M. Faca, 08/04/03, DOI: 10.1038/nature06916, Nature
452, 571-579
[8] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06916.html
_________________________________________________________________
04. Imaging In The Era Of Molecular Oncology , Nature
Excerpts: New technologies for imaging molecules, particularly optical
technologies, are increasingly being used to understand the complexity,
diversity and in vivo behaviour of cancers. 'Omic' approaches are providing
comprehensive 'snapshots' of biological indicators, or biomarkers, of cancer,
but imaging can take this information a step further, showing the activity of
these markers in vivo and how their location changes over time. Advances in
experimental and clinical imaging are likely to improve how cancer is
understood at a systems level and, ultimately, should enable doctors not only
to locate tumours but also to assess the activity of the biological processes
within these tumours and to provide 'on the spot' treatment.
* [9] Imaging In The Era Of Molecular Oncology, Ralph Weissleder, Mikael J.
Pittet, 08/04/03, DOI: 10.1038/nature06917, Nature 452, 580-589
[9] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06917.html
_________________________________________________________________
05. Tumour Maintenance Is Mediated By eNOS , Nature
Excerpts: Tumour cells become addicted to the expression of initiating
oncogenes like Ras, such that loss of oncogene expression in established
tumours leads to tumour regression. HRas, NRas or KRas are mutated to remain in
the active GTP-bound oncogenic state in many cancers. Although Ras activates
several proteins to initiate human tumour growth, only PI3K, through activation
of protein kinase B (...), must remain activated by oncogenic Ras to maintain
this growth. Here we show that blocking phosphorylation of the AKT substrate,
endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS or NOS3), inhibits tumour initiation
and maintenance. (...) We suggest that activation of the
PI3K¡VAKT¡VeNOS¡V(wild-type) Ras pathway by oncogenic Ras in cancer cells is
required to initiate and maintain tumour growth.
* [10] Tumour Maintenance Is Mediated By eNOS, Kian-Huat Lim, Brooke B.
Ancrile, David F. Kashatus, Christopher M. Counter, 08/04/03, DOI:
10.1038/nature06778, Nature 452, 646-649
[10] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06778.html
_________________________________________________________________
06. Mitochondrial Mutations Make Tumors Spread , Science Now
Excerpts: Cancer often strikes its final, fatal blow when a tumor spreads to
other organs. A new study published online today in Science sheds light on this
poorly understood process, called metastasis. The researchers report that
mutations in mitochondrial DNA can spur metastasis and that it can be reversed
with drugs, at least in mice. (...) (...) the fact that antioxidants suppressed
metastasis warrants further study, he says. Kornelia Polyak of the Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute in Boston cautions, however, that clinical trials testing
antioxidants to prevent cancer have yielded mixed results and that giving
antioxidants to someone on chemotherapy could interfere with the treatment.
* [11] Mitochondrial Mutations Make Tumors Spread, Jocelyn Kaiser, 08/04/03,
ScienceNOW
[11] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/403/1
_________________________________________________________________
07. Stem Cells Made To Mimic Disease , BBC News
Excerpts: The use of embyronic stem cells is highly controversial
Scientists have taken skin cells from patients with eight different diseases
and turned them into stem cells. The advance means scientists are moving closer
to using stem cells from the patient themselves to treat disease. (...) Rather
than managing the symptoms of the disease, they would be used to regenerate the
affected parts of the body. (...) They can also be used to test drugs -
potentially paving the way for more effective treatments.
* [12] Stem Cells Made To Mimic Disease, 08/04/07, BBC News
[12] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7334365.stm
_________________________________________________________________
07.01. Feed That Cold! New Study Shows That Lower Food Intake Has A Negative
Effect On Immune System , Innovations-report
Excerpts: Researchers studying deer mice have discovered evidence to support
what mothers everywhere have long suspected: the immune system needs food to
function properly. In an article (...) find that reduced food intake leads to a
decline in immune function in their subjects. (...) Why immune activity is
variable in many wild animals is a question that has long puzzled researchers.
¡§Animals live different lifestyles, so they may use different types of defense
s
against infection depending on the situation. Perhaps this is why immune
defenses vary seasonally in most species; some may be too expensive to use all
the time,¡¨ Martin said, (...).
* [13] Feed That Cold! New Study Shows That Lower Food Intake Has A Negative
Effect On Immune System, 2008/04/03, Innovations-report
* Contributed by [14] Atin Das
[13] http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/studies/report-106781.html
[14] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
08. You, In A Dish - Cultured Human Cells Could Put Lab Animals Out Of Work For
Chemical And Drug Testing , Science News
Excerpts: WEB OF LIFE. Networks showing the interactions among proteins
help scientists understand how a drug affecting one protein will affect overall
cell functioning. This protein network for brewer's yeast shows which proteins
are critical for survival (red), which are important for growth but not
critical to survival (orange), which can be removed without slowing growth or
killing the cells (green), and which are of unknown importance (yellow).
Hawoong Jeong/Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Two
innovations in recent years have made this approach possible. The first is the
explosion of knowledge that resulted from the sequencing of the human genome.
Trying to make sense of this torrent of data has spawned the field of systems
biology, an attempt to put all the genetic pieces together and understand how
the cell operates as a whole. Systems biologists produce complex maps of how
genes and proteins interact, and these maps help scientists to analyze results
from a drug screening.
* [15] You, In A Dish - Cultured Human Cells Could Put Lab Animals Out Of Work
For Chemical And Drug Testing, Patrick Barry, 08/04/05, Science News
[15] http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080405/bob10.asp
_________________________________________________________________
09. Stochasticity and Cell Fate , Science
Excerpts: Fundamental to living cells is the capacity to differentiate into
subtypes with specialized attributes. Understanding the way cells acquire their
fates is a major challenge in developmental biology. How cells adopt a
particular fate is usually thought of as being deterministic, and in the large
majority of cases it is. That is, cells acquire their fate by virtue of their
lineage or their proximity to an inductive signal from another cell. In some
cases, however, and in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans, cells choose
one or another pathway of differentiation stochastically, without apparent
regard to environment or history.
* [16] Stochasticity and Cell Fate, Richard Losick , Claude Desplan, 08/04/04,
Science : 65-68.
[16] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/65
_________________________________________________________________
10. From ¡¥Understanding The Brain By Creating The Brain¡¦ Towards Manipulative
Neuroscience , Phil. Tran. Biol. Sc.
Excerpt: Ten years have passed since the Japanese ¡¥Century of the Brain¡¦ was
promoted, and its most notable objective, the unique ¡¥creating the brain¡¦
approach, has led us to apply a humanoid robot as a neuroscience tool. Here, we
aim to understand the brain to the extent that we can make humanoid robots solv
e
tasks typically solved by the human brain by essentially the same principles. I
postulate that this ¡¥Understanding the Brain by Creating the Brain¡¦ approach
is
the only way to fully understand neural mechanisms in a rigorous sense. (...)
* [17] From ¡¥Understanding The Brain By Creating The Brain¡¦ Towards
Manipulative Neuroscience, M. Kawato, 2008/03/28, DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.2272,
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences
* Contributed by [18] Atin Das
[17]
http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/1k785017n2013483/?p=44597d0446db4380a2
65946ef89ea139&pi=0
[18] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
10.01. Episodic-Like Memory in Rats: Is It Based on When or How Long Ago? ,
Science
Excerpts: Recent experiments with rats suggest that they show episodic-like or
what-where-when memory for a preferred food found on a radial maze. Although
memory for when a salient event occurred suggests that rats can mentally travel
in time to a moment in the past, an alternative possibility is that they
remember how long ago the food was found. Three groups of rats were tested for
memory of previously encountered food.
* [19] Episodic-Like Memory in Rats: Is It Based on When or How Long Ago?,
William A. Roberts, Miranda C. Feeney, Krista MacPherson, Mark Petter, Neil
McMillan, Evanya Musolino, 08/04/04, Science: 113-115.
[19] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/113
_________________________________________________________________
11. NYU Dental Professor Discovers Biological Clock , Innovations-report
Excerpt: Why do rats live faster and die younger than humans? A newly
discovered biological clock provides tantalizing clues. This clock, or
biological rhythm, controls many metabolic functions and is based on the
circadian rhythm, which is a roughly 24-hour cycle that is important in
determining sleeping and feeding patterns, cell regeneration, and other
biological processes in mammals. The newly discovered rhythm, like the
circadian rhythm, originates in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain that
functions as the main control center for the autonomic nervous system. But
unlike the circadian rhythm, this clock varies from one organism to another,
(...).
* [20] NYU Dental Professor Discovers Biological Clock, 2008/04/08,
Innovations-report
* Contributed by [21] Atin Das
[20]
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-107149.html
[21] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
12. A Place In The Sun , Innovations-report
Excerpts: Those spindly plants that desperately try to reach for a break in the
canopy formed by larger plants all suffer from the same affliction: Shade
avoidance syndrome or SAS. Now, the molecular details of SAS have been brought
to light by researchers (...). To step out of their neighbors¡¦ shade, plants
switch on a natural chemical factory for the synthesis of the plant growth
hormone auxin that lets a plant grow and ultimately stretch toward the sun,
(...). Understanding this response at a molecular level will allow scientists
to naturally manipulate this response to increase yield in crops ranging from
rice to wheat. (...)
* [22] A Place In The Sun, 2008/04/07, Innovations-report
* Contributed by [23] Atin Das
[22]
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-107051.html
[23] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
13. 'Darwin Chip' Brings Evolution Into The Classroom , New Scientist
Excerpts: A new "Darwin chip" could make evolution as easy as pressing play.
Researchers have created an automated device that evolves a biological molecule
on a chip filled with hundreds of miniature chambers. The molecule, which
stitches together strands of RNA, became 90 times more efficient after just 70
hours of evolution. "It's survival of the fittest," (...). The experiment could
be used in the future to evolve molecules - or even cells - to sense
environmental pollutants, (...).
* [24] 'Darwin Chip' Brings Evolution Into The Classroom, Ewen Callaway,
08/04/08, NewScientist
[24]
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13611-darwin-chip-brings-evolution-into-t
he-classroom.html
_________________________________________________________________
14. Carbon-Trading Market Has Uncertain Future - Clean Development Mechanism
May Be Capped. , Nature
Excerpts: The idea that developing nations should be able to increase emissions
for a time to grow their economies and lift their citizens out of poverty is
grounded in the current climate treaty. But there is increasing recognition
that industrialized countries - responsible for most of the current
greenhouse-gas emissions - cannot alone address climate issues, given the rapid
rise of emissions in emerging economies.
* [25] http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080402/full/452508b.html, 08, DOI:
10.1038/452508b, Nature 452, 508-509
[25] http://Jeff Tollefson
_________________________________________________________________
15. Quantum Cocoon - Diamonds Are A Physicist's - And Perhaps Quantum
Computing's - Best Friend , Science News
Excerpts: RING CYCLE. At just 300 nanometers thick, this is the world's
smallest diamond ring. Steven Prawer and his colleagues at the University of
Melbourne in Australia are creating structures such as this one to guide light
pulses inside future diamond-based computers. B. Fairchild and P. Olivero/Univ.
of Melbourne Complete control over the states of a qubit is one step toward
making diamond viable for quantum computing, physicists say. That path will be
long, but encouraging steps have already been made. Among the most significant
was the realization that diamond can keep quantum states undisturbed at room
temperature. For example, the spin states of NV centers can last up to a
millisecond, Awschalom says, which in the quantum world is an eternity. In one
millisecond, a quantum computer would be able to perform thousands of
calculations, each involving multiple states at once.
* [26] Quantum Cocoon - Diamonds Are A Physicist's - And Perhaps Quantum
Computing's - Best Friend, Davide Castelvecchi, 08/04/05, Science News
[26] http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080405/bob9.asp
_________________________________________________________________
15.01. Newly Discovered 'Superinsulators' Promise To Transform Materials
Research, Electronics Design , PhysOrg.com
Excerpts: If, for example, a battery is left exposed to the air, the charge
will eventually drain from it in a matter of days or weeks because the air is
not a perfect insulator, according to Vinokur. "If you pass a current through a
superconductor, then it will carry the current forever; conversely, if you have
a superinsulator, then it will hold a charge forever," he said. (...) "Titanium
nitride films, as well as films prepared from some other materials, can be
either superconductors or insulators depending on the thickness of the film,"
Vinokur said. "If you take the film which is just on the insulating side of the
transition and decrease the temperature or magnetic field, then the film all of
a sudden becomes a superinsulator."
* [27] Newly Discovered 'Superinsulators' Promise To Transform Materials
Research, Electronics Design, 08/04/07, PhysOrg.com
[27] http://www.physorg.com/news126797387.html
_________________________________________________________________
16. Music Theory: Creating Musical Variation , Science
Excerpts: Inspiration for composition may come from natural sounds, chance, and
methods based on chaos theory. (...) However, if a composer wants to vary an
entire work from one hearing to the next, and even from performance to
performance, without Cage's randomness, a different kind of variation technique
has been helpful--one that uses a chaotic mapping to make musical variations of
the entire work ( [28] 13). Such a technique harnesses a natural mechanism for
variability found in the science of chaos--that is, the sensitivity of chaotic
trajectories to initial conditions.
* [29] Music Theory: Creating Musical Variation, Diana S. Dabby, 08/04/04,
Science : 62-63.
[28] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/62#ref13
[29] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5872/62
_________________________________________________________________
17. Hot, Bright, Massive Stars Have Complex Mixing Processes In Their Great
Depths , ScienceDaily
Excerpts: A surprising analysis of material churned up from the depths of
massive stars shows that the mixing processes in these hot, bright stars are
much more complicated than thought. (...) Massive stars rotate at speeds of up
to a million kilometres per hour and this rotation drives huge circulatory
currents. Models predict that gas from the star¡¦s core, containing nitrogen an
d
other elements produced in fusion reactions, should be thrust up to the surface
.
(...) They found that nearly half the stars did not have the levels of nitrogen
predicted, indicating rotation is not the only factor driving mixing. (...)
* [30] Hot, Bright, Massive Stars Have Complex Mixing Processes In Their Great
Depths, 2008/04/07, ScienceDaily & Royal Astronomical Society
* Contributed by [31] Atin Das
[30] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402160844.htm
[31] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
18. Short- And Long-Term Effects Of United Nations Peace Operations , World
Bank Econ. Rev.
Excerpts: (...) showed that United Nations (UN) peace operations have made
positive contributions to peacebuilding in the short term, helping parties
implement peace agreements. But are the effects of UN peace operations lasting?
Because the UN cannot fight wars, such operations should not be used to enforce
a peace. Peacekeeping operations contribute more to the quality of the
peace¡Xthat is, to securing more than the mere absence of war¡Xthan to its
duration, because the effects of such operations dissipate over time. For peace
to be self-sustaining, countries must develop institutions and policies that
generate economic growth. (...)
* [32] Short- And Long-Term Effects Of United Nations Peace Operations, [33] N.
Sambanis, 22:1, 2008, online 2008/01/31, DOI: 10.1093/wber/lhm022, The World
Bank Economic Review
* Contributed by [34] Pritha Das
[32] http://wber.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/1/9
[33] mailto:nicholas.sambanis at yale.edu
[34] mailto:prithadas01 at yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
_________________________________________________________________
19.01. Crackdown on Militias May Add to Instability in Iraq , NY Times
Excerpts: And both the Kurds and some of Mr. Maliki's Shiite political rivals,
who also resent Mr. Sadr's rising power, have been driven closer to Mr. Maliki.
This may give him more traction to pass laws and broker deals. But the badly
coordinated push into Basra has unleashed a new barrage of attacks on American
and Iraqi forces and has led to open fighting between Shiite militias.
* [35] Crackdown on Militias May Add to Instability in Iraq, James Glanz,
Stephen Farrell, 08/04/08, NYTimes
[35] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html
_________________________________________________________________
19.02. Building A Legal Framework For Torture , Aljazeera
Excerpts: Early drafts of the report advocated intimidating prisoners with
dogs Among the issues to be addressed were ¡¡±policy considerations with
respect to the choice of interrogation techniques, including contribution to
intelligence collection, effect on treatment of captured U.S. military
personnel, effect on detainee prosecutions, historical role of U.S. armed
forces in conducting interrogations, recommendations for employment of
particular interrogation techniques by [Defense Department] interrogators."
* [36] Building A Legal Framework For Torture, [37] Jason Leopold , Aljazeera
[36] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=106312
[37] mailto:ref_date 08/04/10
_________________________________________________________________
20. Links & Snippets
_________________________________________________________________
20.01. Other Publications
- Hydrogen Plane Takes To The Skies: Fuel-Cell Flight Points To The Future,
Claims Boeing, 2008/04/04, vnunet.com
- Darwin Told Us So: UBC Researcher Shows Natural Selection Speeds Up
Speciation, 2008/04/03, Innovations-report
- Social Networks In The Lek-Mating Wire-Tailed Manakin (Pipra Filicauda),
2008/04/01, Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0205
- Brain Regeneration From Pluripotent Stem Cells In Planarian, 2008/03/28,
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.2260
- Two Frontal Brain Areas Contribute Specifically To Certain Decision-making
Processes, 2008/04/03, ScienceDaily & Public Library of Science
- Brain DNA 'Remodeled' In Alcoholism, 2008/04/04, ScienceDaily & University of
Illinois at Chicago
- A Little Anxiety Is Sometimes A Good Thing, Study Shows, 2008/04/05,
ScienceDaily & Association for Psychological Science
- Systemic Crises And Growth, Feb. 2008, Online 2008/02/05, Quarterly Journal
of Economics, DOI: 10.1162/qjec.2008.123.1.359
- Searching For Memories, Sudoku, Implicit Check Bits, And The Iterative Use Of
Not-Always-Correct Rapid Neural Computation, May 2008, Online 2008/03/31, Neura
l
Computation, DOI: 10.1162/neco.2007.09-06-345
- Federal Government Information Policy And Public Policy Analysis: A Brief
Overview, Mar. 2008, online 2008/03/25, Library & Information Science Research,
DOI: 10.1016/j.lisr.2007.11.004
- RNA Interference: Generic Block On Angiogenesis, 08/04/03, Nature 452,
543-545. A virtue of using small interfering RNAs as therapeutics is their
exquisite specificity. But when it comes to inhibiting blood-vessel growth, it
seems that they can act generically without even entering a cell., DOI:
10.1038/452543a
- Microbiology: Germs Take a Bite Out of Antibiotics, 08/04/04, Science : 33. A
broad survey of soil microbes shows that numerous species devour even the most
potent drugs, researchers report on page 100 of this week's issue of Science,
fueling worries about the dwindling power of our main weapons against
infections.
- Archaeology: DNA From Fossil Feces Breaks Clovis Barrier, 08/04/03, Science :
37. An international team reports online in Science this week what some experts
consider the strongest evidence yet for an earlier peopling of the Americas:
14,000-year-old ancient DNA from fossilized human excrement (coprolites), found
in caves in south-central Oregon.
- Cancer Biology: All in the Stroma: Cancer's Cosa Nostra, 08/04/04, Science:
38-41. After focusing for decades on what happens within tumor cells to make
them go wrong, biologists are turning to the tumor environment and finding a
network of coconspirators.
- Magnetic Measurements Hint at Toastier Superconductivity, 08/04/04, Science :
42-43. At the American Physical Society meeting, researchers reported evidence
that superconductivity might persist in high-temperature superconductors up to
at least 200 K, albeit in tiny, disconnected patches, implying that current
materials may not have reached the ultimate limits.
- Climate: Blooms Like It Hot, 08/04/04, Science: 57-58. A link exists between
global warming and the worldwide proliferation of harmful cyanobacterial
blooms.
- Aztec Arithmetic Revisited: Land-Area Algorithms and Acolhua Congruence
Arithmetic, 08/04/04, Science: 72-77. Analysis of ancient property records
shows that the Aztecs used common algorithms and a distance standard for
calculating land area and specific symbols to represent fractions.
- Entrainment of Neuronal Oscillations as a Mechanism of Attentional Selection,
08/04/04, Science : 110-113.
In monkeys that are paying attention to a rhythmic stimulus, brain oscillations
become tuned to the stimulus so that the response in the visual cortex is
enhanced.
_________________________________________________________________
20.02. Webcast Announcements
7th Intl Conf on Complex Systems (ICCS), Boston, MA, 07/10/28-11/02
[38]
Reseau Nationale des Systemes Complexes , (in French), 2007
[39] World Economic Forum , Davos, Switzerland, 08/01/22-27
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
[40] An Afternoon with Michael Crichton, Washington, 05/11/06
[41]
Illuminating the Shadow of the Future, Ann Arbor, Mi 05/09/23-25
[42]
Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems - Brainstorming
Meeting, Paris, France 05/09/19-23
[43]
Complexity, Science & Society Conference 2005, U. Liverpool, UK 2005/09/11-14
[44]
ECAL 2005 - VIIIth European Conference on Artificial Life,
Canterbury, Kent, UK 2005/09/5-9
[45]
T. Irene Sanders, Executive Director and Founder, [46] The Washington Center
for Complexity & Public Policy, 05/08/27, QuickTime video (10:38 min), [47]
Podcast
[48] 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
[49] Understanding Complex Systems - Computational Complexity and
Bioinformatics, Virtual Conference Network, Urbana-Champaign, Il, UIUC,
05/05/16-19
[50] 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
[51]
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
[38] http://webcast.in2p3.fr/RNSC/ target=new
[39]
http://gaia.world-television.com/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2008/Targe
t=new
[40] http://www.complexsys.org/news.htm target=new
[41] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05ISF/index.html target=new
[42] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ONCECS05/ target=new
[43] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/CSS05/ target=new
[44] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ECAL2005/ target=new
[45] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders0508.mov target=new
[46] http://www.complexsys.org/ target=new
[47] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders.mp3
[48] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05NASPSA/ target=new
[49] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05UCS/ target=new
[50] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Nicolis05/Target=new
[51] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ECCS04/Target=new
_________________________________________________________________
20.03. Conference Announcements
[52]
Fumee 1 - 1St Futures Meeting - Understanding Anticipatory Systems, Rovereto
(Italy), 08/04/10-12
1st Intl Conf on Social Entrepreneurship & Complexity, Garden City, NY, USA,
08/04/10-12
[53]
Emergence In The Physical And Biological World: A Notion In Search Of
Clarification, Erice (Italy), 08/04/12-16
BIO_IT World Conf & Expo, Boston, MA, 08/04/28-30
Chaos And Dynamics In Biological Networks, Cargese, Corsica, France,
08/05/05-09
Brittle Fracture and Plastic Slip: from the Atomistic to the Engineering Scale,
Udine, Italy, 08/05/26-30
[54]
CHAOS2008
Chaotic Modeling and Simulation International Conference, Chania, Crete,
Greece, 08/06/03-06
[55] International Conference on Chaos, Complexity & Conflict, Omaha, NE,
08/06/05-07
[56]
4th Organization Studies Summer Workshop: ¡§Embracing Complexity: Advancing
Ecological Understanding in Organization Studies¡¨, Pissouri, Cyprus,
08/06/05-07
Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Tenth Annual... Applying Systems Biology, San
Francisco, CA, 08/06/09-11
AUTOMATA 2008, EPSRC Workshop Cellular Automata Theory and Applications,
Bristol, UK, 08/06/12-14
[57]
9th Intl Mathematica Symposium, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 08/06/20-24
[58]
The 14th Intl Conf on Auditory Display (ICAD), Paris, France, 08/06/24-27
The 3rd Intl Symp on Knowledge Communication and Peer Reviewing: KCPR 2008,
Orlando, Florida, USA, 08/06/29-07/02
The 3rd Intl Symp on Knowledge Communication and Conferences: KCC 2008,
Orlando, Florida, USA, 08/06/29-07/02
[59]
7th Intl Summer School and Conf "Let's Face Chaos through Nonlinear Dynamics",
Maribor, Slovenia, 08/06/29-07/13
The 12th World Multi-Conf on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI
2008, Orlando, Florida, USA, 08/06/29-07/02
>From Animals To Animats 10 - The 10th Intl Conf on the Simulation Of Adaptive
Behavior (SAB'08), Osaka, Japan, 08/07/07-12
[60]
Complex Systems and Social Simulations, CEU Summer University, Budapest,
Hungary, 08/07/07-18
2008 Gordon Research Conf on Oscillations & Dynamic Instabilities
in Chemical Systems, Waterville, ME, 08/07/13-18
Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics Models, Udine, Italy, 08/07/14-18
[61]
1st Intl Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics and Synchronization
(INDS¡¦08), Klagenfurt, Austria, 08/07/18-19
[62]
Scratch at MIT,Cambridge, MA, 08/07/24-26
[63]
8th Intl Conf on Epigenetic Robotics:
Modeling Cognitive Development in Robotic Systems, Brighton, UK,
08/07/31-08/02
On the Edge: Healthcare in the Age of Complexity,
Kansas City, MO, 08/08/03-05
Stochastic Resonance 2008, Perugia, Italy, 08/08/17-21
4th Intl Conf on Natural Computation (ICNC'08) - 5th Intl Conf on Fuzzy Systems
and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD'08),
Jinan, China, 08/08/25-27
Intl Conf DEscribing COmplex Systems (DECOS), Zadar,
Croatia, 08/09/03-07
EPOS 2008, III Edition of Epistemological Perspectives on Simulation, Lisbon,
Portugal, 08/10/02-03
[52] http://www.mitteleuropafoundation.org/events.html TARGET=new
[53] http://www.plluisi.org/Erice2008/origin.htm TARGET=new
[54] http://www.asmda.net/chaos2008/ TARGET=new
[55] http://law.creighton.edu/wernerInstitute/complexityconference/ TARGET=new
[56] http://www.egosnet.org/journal/os_summer_workshop_2008.shtml TARGET=new
[57] http://www.ims08.org/ TARGET=new
[58] http://http://icad08.ircam.fr TARGET=new
[59] http://www.camtp.uni-mb.si/chaos/2008/ TARGET=new
[60] http://www.sun.ceu.hu/complex-systems/ TARGET=new
[61] http://inds08.uni-klu.ac.at/ TARGET=new
[62] http://scratch.mit.edu/conference/ TARGET=new
[63] http://www.epigenetic-robotics.org TARGET=new
_________________________________________________________________
20.04. Other Announcements
A short notice from Dean LeBaron
Dear ComDig Readers,
Our editor, Dr. Gottfried Mayer, is affectionately esteemed by many of you --
as readers, you know he devotes himself unselfishly to widening our knowledge
of complexity science. He was recently diagnosed with advanced colon cancer and
given a timetable of a very few years. Knowing Gottfried, you can imagine that,
in addition to the customary processes of chemotherapy, he would explore other
frontier therapies, especially those arising out of interdisciplinary
applications of complexity. These are expensive ... if he can find them.
Many of you have sent your good wishes and indicated your desire to assist.
With Gottfried¡¦s permission, I am posting this note with information, below,
about how to send contributions to him. Please indicate the source since
Gottfried will want to express his warm gratitude.
I know that Gottfried, the good scientist that he is, will explain from time to
time what he is doing and what the results are ... and we will follow his
progress with great interest and hope.
Dean LeBaron
Publisher, Complexity Digest
Bank Information:
If your contribution is made by check:
Please mail the check, payable to ¡§Gottfried Mayer¡¨, to:
Manufacturers & Traders Trust
2080 Western Avenue
20 Mall
Guilderland, NY 12084 USA
(on the back of the check, please write: ¡§For Deposit Only: Account # 983 338
3814¡¨)
If your contribution is made by wire:
Manufacturers & Traders Trust
2080 Western Avenue
20 Mall
Guilderland, NY 12084 USA
SWIFT Code# MANTUS33
UID: 209 791
ABA routing # 022 00 00 46 [for US wire transfers]
Account # 983 338 3814
Ref. Gottfried Mayer
_________________________________________________________________
[64]Complexity Digest is an independent publication available to
organizations that may wish to repost [65]ComDig to their own mailing
lists. [66]ComDig is published by [67]Dean LeBaron and edited by
[68]Gottfried J. Mayer.
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a note to
[69]subscriptions at comdig.org.
[64] http://www.comdig.org/
[65] http://www.comdig.org/
[66] http://www.comdig.org/
[67] http://www.deanlebaron.com/index.html
[68] http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/x/gxm21/
[69] mailto:subscriptions at comdig.org
----- End forwarded message -----
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Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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