[tt] Complexity Digest 2008.33 (text version -2)
Eugen Leitl
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Subject: Complexity Digest 2008.33 (text version -2)
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Complexity Digest 2008.33 14-Aug-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. Interdisciplinary Science: Harvard Under Review, Nature
02. Psychology: Trust Me on This, Science
03. Handle With Care, NY Times
04. Never Bet Against A Pro, Science News
05. Robots Learn To Move Themselves, BBC News
06. Dogs Catch Human Yawns, Biol. Lett.
07. Learning By Embryos And The Ghost Of Predation Future, Proc. Biol. Sc.
08. Moving AHEAD With An International Human Epigenome Project, Nature
09. Complex Decision? Don't Sleep On It, ScienceDaily
09.01. Connections Between Genetics, Brain Activity And Preference Discovered,
ScienceDaily
10. Correlations And Population Dynamics In Cortical Networks, Neural Compu.
10.01. Trigger For Brain Plasticity Identified: Signal Comes, Surprisingly,
>From Outside The Brain, ScienceDaily
11. Evolutionary Biology: Deciphering the Genetics of Evolution, Science
11.01. DNA Defense - Immune Cell Expels Its Mitochondrial DNA To Keep Invaders
At Bay, Science News
12. Tuberculosis: Shrewd Survival Strategy, Nature
13. The Social Dynamics Of Mathematics Coursetaking In High School, Ameri. J.
Socio.
14. Agent-Based Simulation of the Trust and Tracing Game for Supply Chains and
Networks, JASSS
14.01. Modelling Socio-Technical Transition Patterns and Pathways, JASSS
14.02. Evolution of Evolvability in Gene Regulatory Networks, PLoS Comput Biol
15. Emergence and Collapse of Peace with Friend Selection Strategies, JASSS
16. Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Self-Assembling Systems,
Science
16.01. Problem Solved* (*sort of), Science
17. Invisible Hand, And A Quick One At That, Science News
18. Astronomy: Planetary System Formation, Science
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.01. Al-Qaeda Said to Use Regional Strife to Tighten Grip in Pakistan,
Washington Post
20. Links & Snippets
20.01. Other Publications
20.02. Webcast Announcements
20.03. Conference Announcements
20.04. Other Announcements
_________________________________________________________________
01. Interdisciplinary Science: Harvard Under Review , Nature
Excerpts: Harvard is embarking on an experiment to foster collaboration and
interdisciplinary research. (...) Another key part of the effort is the Harvard
University Science and Engineering Committee (HUSEC), which encompasses
Harvard's provost and other top leaders of science and aims to improve the
coordination of science planning across the university and to provide funding
to start up new initiatives. (...) how to strengthen ties across the medical
school and research hospitals in areas such as human genetics, neuroscience,
technology development and therapeutics and chemical biology.
* [4] Interdisciplinary Science: Harvard Under Review, Corie Lok, 08/08/06,
DOI: 10.1038/454686a, Nature 454, 686-689
[4] http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080807/full/454686a.html
_________________________________________________________________
02. Psychology: Trust Me on This , Science
Excerpts: Unstable interpersonal relationships, reduced impulse control, and
difficulty regulating emotions characterize borderline personality disorder, a
severe mental illness that accounts for up to 20% of psychiatric inpatients and
exerts a tremendous toll on those afflicted, their social network, and the
health-care system. Close relationships of patients are often tumultuous,
spiraling out of control through highly emotional and unpredictable behavior
that can leave others baffled, angry, and frightened.
* [5] Psychology: Trust Me on This, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, 08/08/08, Science
: 778-780.
[5] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/778
_________________________________________________________________
03. Handle With Care , NY Times
Excerpts: "The complexity of newly engineered systems coupled with their
potential impact on lives, the environment, etc., raise a set of ethical issues
that engineers had not been thinking about," (...). And researchers working in
geoengineering say they worry that if people realize there are possible
technical fixes for global warming, they will feel less urgency about reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. (...) On the other hand, some climate scientists
argue that if people realized such drastic measures were on the horizon, they
would be frightened enough to reduce their collective carbon footprint.
* [6] Handle With Care, Cornelia Dean, 08/08/11, NYTimes
[6]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/science/12ethics.html?_r=2&ref=science&oref=s
login&oref=slogin
_________________________________________________________________
04. Never Bet Against A Pro , Science News
Excerpts: Elite basketball players most adept at predicting a shot's fate.
(...) These results put another win on the board for one side in a scientific
debate about how people understand action and infer what others are thinking.
One side of the debate holds that, with experience, people amass a checklist of
criteria to tell what other people think and what they are likely to do next.
The other school of thought is that people simulate the actions of others in
their own minds to predict what happens next. While scientists will probably
continue to debate, the new study is further evidence that learning by doing
beats couch-potato learning.
* [7] Never Bet Against A Pro, Tina Hesman Saey, 08/08/10, Science News
[7]
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35043/title/Never_bet_against_a_pro
_________________________________________________________________
05. Robots Learn To Move Themselves , BBC News
Excerpts: The simulated human learnt to do back flips The only input to
the network is the types of motion that the robot can achieve; in the case of a
humanoid, there are 15 joints and the angles through which they can move. No
information about the robot's environment is given. The network then sends out
signals to move in a particular way, and predicts where it should end up, based
on that movement. If it encounters an obstacle such as itself, a wall or the
floor, the prediction is wrong, and the robot tries different moves, learning
about itself and its environment as it does so.
Editor's Note: Karl Sims' "Blockies" - using genetic algorithms - evolved more
elegant and efficient looking movement patterns back in the '90s..
* [8] Robots Learn To Move Themselves, 08/08/06, BBC News
[8] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7544099.stm
_________________________________________________________________
06. Dogs Catch Human Yawns , Biol. Lett.
Excerpt: This study is the first to demonstrate that human yawns are possibly
contagious to domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Twenty-nine dogs observed a
human yawning or making control mouth movements. Twenty-one dogs yawned when
they observed a human yawning, but control mouth movements did not elicit
yawning from any of them. The presence of contagious yawning in dogs suggests
that this phenomenon is not specific to primate species and may indicate that
dogs possess the capacity for a rudimentary form of empathy. Since yawning is
known to modulate the levels of arousal, yawn contagion may help coordinate
doghuman interaction and communication. (...)
* [9] Dogs Catch Human Yawns, R. M. J.-Mascheroni , A.Senju , A. J. Shepherd,
2008/08/05, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0333, Biological Letters
* Contributed by [10] Atin Das
[9]
http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/1745x61p3r332851/?p=d3987fbc42144999be
47c385d20dfcd4&pi=1
[10] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
07. Learning By Embryos And The Ghost Of Predation Future , Proc. Biol. Sc.
Excerpts: Most research on the effects of exposure to stressful stimuli during
embryonic development has focused on post-embryonic behaviour that appears to
be abnormal or maladaptive. Here, we tested whether exposure to some stressful
stimuli (predatory cues) can lead to post-embryonic behaviour that is adaptive.
When eggs of ringed salamanders (Ambystoma annulatum) were exposed to chemical
cues from predators, post-hatching larvae showed reduced activity and greater
shelter-seeking behaviour; larvae that had been exposed to control cues did not
show these behaviours. (...) Therefore, if embryonic experience is a good
predictor of future risk, learning associated with exposure to negative stimuli
during development may be adaptive.
* [11] Learning By Embryos And The Ghost Of Predation Future, A. Mathis , M.
C.O. Ferrari , N. Windel , F. Messier , D. P. Chivers, 2008/08/05, DOI:
10.1098/rspb.2008.0754, Proceedings B: Biological Sciences
* Contributed by [12] Atin Das
[11]
http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/j5j346024q1042u0/?p=a92b24b48a084db18a
cb475bd9f4fd8b&pi=2
[12] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
08. Moving AHEAD With An International Human Epigenome Project , Nature
Excerpts: A plan to 'genomicize' epigenomics research and pave the way for
breakthroughs in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. It
is now possible to define whole epigenomes, representing the totality of
epigenetic marks in a given cell type. Epigenetic processes are essential for
packaging and interpreting the genome, are fundamental to normal development
and are increasingly recognized as being involved in human disease.
* [13] Moving AHEAD With An International Human Epigenome Project, 08/08/07,
DOI: 10.1038/454711a, Nature 454, 711-715
[13] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7205/full/454711a.html
_________________________________________________________________
09. Complex Decision? Don't Sleep On It , ScienceDaily
Excerpts: Neither snap judgements nor sleeping on a problem are any better than
conscious thinking for making complex decisions, according to new research. The
finding debunks a controversial 2006 research result asserting that unconscious
thought is superior for complex decisions, such as buying a house or car. If
anything, the new study suggests that conscious thought leads to better
choices. (...) scientists ran four experiments in which participants were
presented with complex decisions and asked to choose the best option
immediately ("blink"), after a period of conscious deliberation ("think"), or
after a period of distraction ("sleep on it"), which is claimed to encourage
"unconscious thought processes". (...)
* [14] Complex Decision? Don't Sleep On It, 2008/08/11, ScienceDaily &
University of New South Wales
* Contributed by [15] Atin Das
[14] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811070624.htm
[15] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
09.01. Connections Between Genetics, Brain Activity And Preference Discovered ,
ScienceDaily
Excerpts: A team of researchers (...) identify a connection between brain
reward circuitry, a behavioral measurement of preference and a gene variant
that appears to influence both. The report(...) describes how variations in a
gene involved with the brain's reward function are associated with the activity
of a key brain structure and, in parallel, with the effort study participants
'invest' in viewing emotion-laden facial images. The findings have implications
for how genes may influence healthy or dysfunctional behavior involving choices
in many different areas. (...)
* [16] Connections Between Genetics, Brain Activity And Preference Discovered,
2008/08/08, ScienceDaily & Massachusetts General Hospital
* Contributed by [17] Atin Das
[16] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806140213.htm
[17] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
10. Correlations And Population Dynamics In Cortical Networks , Neural Compu.
Excerpt: The function of cortical networks depends on the collective interplay
between neurons and neuronal populations, which is reflected in the correlation
of signals that can be recorded at different levels. To correctly interpret
these observations it is important to understand the origin of neuronal
correlations. Here we study how cells in large recurrent networks of excitatory
and inhibitory neurons interact and how the associated correlations affect
stationary states of idle network activity. We demonstrate that the structure
of the connectivity matrix of such networks induces considerable correlations
between synaptic currents as well as between subthreshold membrane potentials,
(...).
* [18] Correlations And Population Dynamics In Cortical Networks, [19] B.
Kriener, [20] T. Tetzlaff, [21] A. Aertsen, [22] M. Diesmann, [23] S. Rotter,
Sep. 2008, Online 2008/07/14, DOI: 10.1162/neco.2008.02-07-474, Neural
Computation
* Contributed by [24] Pritha Das
[18] http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/neco.2008.02-07-474
[19] mailto:kriener at biologie.uni-freiburg.de
[20] mailto:tom.tetzlaff at umb.no
[21] mailto:aertsen at biologie.uni-freiburg.de
[22] mailto:diesmann at brain.riken.jp
[23] mailto:stefan.rotter at biologie.uni-freiburg.de
[24] mailto:prithadas01 at yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
10.01. Trigger For Brain Plasticity Identified: Signal Comes, Surprisingly,
>From Outside The Brain , ScienceDaily
Excerpts: Researchers have long sought a factor that can trigger the brain's
ability to learn ?and perhaps recapture the "sponge-like" quality of
childhood. (...) report that they've identified such a factor, a protein called
Otx 2. Otx2 helps a key type of cell in the cortex to mature, initiating a
critical period -- a window of heightened brain plasticity, when the brain can
readily make new connections. The work was done in a mouse model of the visual
system, a classic model for understanding how the brain sets up its wiring in
response to input from the outside world. (...)
* [25] Trigger For Brain Plasticity Identified: Signal Comes, Surprisingly,
>From Outside The Brain, 2008/08/09, ScienceDaily & Children's Hospital Boston
* Contributed by [26] Atin Das
[25] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807130818.htm
[26] mailto:dasatin at yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________
11. Evolutionary Biology: Deciphering the Genetics of Evolution , Science
Excerpts: Powerful personalities in evolutionary biology have been tussling
over how the genome changes to set the stage for evolution. (...) Early
suggestions that gene regulation could be important to evolution came in the
1970s from work by bacterial geneticists showing a link between gene expression
and enzyme activity in bacteria. About the same time, Allan Wilson and
Mary-Claire King of the University of California, Berkeley, concluded that
genes and proteins of chimps and humans are so similar that our bipedal,
hairless existence must be the product of changes in when, where, and to what
degree those genes and proteins come into play. (...).
* [27] Evolutionary Biology: Deciphering the Genetics of Evolution, Elizabeth
Pennisi, 08/08/08, Science: 760-763.
[27] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/760
_________________________________________________________________
11.01. DNA Defense - Immune Cell Expels Its Mitochondrial DNA To Keep Invaders
At Bay , Science News
Excerpts: Immune system cells known as eosinophils (in green with red
nucleus) catapult their mitochondrial DNA out of the cell, forming tangled
traps (red) that ensnare foreign bacteria.
Credit: Hans-Uwe Simon, Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern,
Switzerland. Scientists already knew that the DNA-flinging cells, called
eosinophils, secrete toxic protein granules during battles with foreign
invaders. (The red dye eosin binds to these granules, hence the name.)
Eosinophils make up only 1 to 3 percent of the body's white blood cells and are
found only in certain places, such as the digestive tract. The cells' precise
role in the immune system cavalry has puzzled researchers for a long time.
(...) "The med school paradigm is that eosinophils are a host defense against
big parasites that can't be gobbled up by smaller immune system cells. Instead
you bring in these eosinophils that secrete a bunch of nasty things that kill
them," (...).
* [28] DNA Defense - Immune Cell Expels Its Mitochondrial DNA To Keep Invaders
At Bay, Rachel Ehrenberg, 08/08/10, Science News
[28] http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35045/title/DNA_defense
_________________________________________________________________
12. Tuberculosis: Shrewd Survival Strategy , Nature
Excerpts: The bacterium that causes tuberculosis is one of the most successful
pathogens. Its spread among humans has been so efficient that as much as
one-third of the world's population is now believed to be infected. In most
cases, these infections cause clinically silent disease, which is likely to
remain permanently dormant unless the host's immunity is substantially
compromised. The extraordinary stealth and opportunism that Mycobacterium
tuberculosis exhibits results from the complex and delicately coordinated way
in which it interacts with its host ¡X a process controlled in part by a
specialized bacterial protein-secretion system called ESX-1.
* [29] Tuberculosis: Shrewd Survival Strategy, Steven A. Porcelli, 08/08/07,
DOI: 10.1038/454702a, Nature 454, 702-703
[29] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7205/full/454702a.html
_________________________________________________________________
13. The Social Dynamics Of Mathematics Coursetaking In High School , Ameri. J.
Socio.
Excerpts: This study examines how high school boys' and girls' academic effort,
in the form of math coursetaking, is influenced by members of their social
contexts. The authors argue that adolescents' social contexts are defined, in
part, by clusters of students (termed local positions? who take courses that
differentiate them from others. (...) Incorporating the local positions into
multilevel models of math coursetaking, the authors find that girls are highly
responsive to the social norms in their local positions, which contributes to
homogeneity within and heterogeneity between local positions.
* [30] The Social Dynamics Of Mathematics Coursetaking In High School, [31] K.
A. Frank, C. Muller , K. S. Schiller , C. R.-Crumb, , A. S. Mueller , R.
Crosnoe , J. Pearson, May 2008, DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-3435.2008.00342.x,
American Journal of Sociology
* Contributed by [32] Pritha Das
[30] http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/587153
[31] mailto:kenfrank at msu.edu
[32] mailto:prithadas01 at yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
14. Agent-Based Simulation of the Trust and Tracing Game for Supply Chains and
Networks , JASSS
Abstract: This paper describes a multi-agent simulation model of the Trust And
Tracing game. The Trust And Tracing game is a gaming simulation for human
players, developed as a research tool for data collection on human behaviour in
food supply chains with asymmetric information about food quality and food
safety. Important issues in the game are opportunistic behaviour (deceit),
trust and institutional arrangements for enforcing compliance. The goal is to
improve the understanding of human decision making with respect to these
issues. To this end multi-agent simulation can be applied to simulate the
effect of models of individual decision making in partner selection,
negotiation, deceit and trust on system behaviour. The combination of human
gaming simulation and multi-agent simulation offers a basis for model
refinement in a cycle of validation, experimentation, and formulation of new
hypotheses. This paper describes a first round of model formulation and
validation. The models presented are validated by a series of experiments
performed by the implemented simulation system, of which the outcomes are
compared on aggregated level to the outcomes of games played by humans. The
experiments cover in a systematic way the important variations in parameter
settings possible in the game and in the characteristics of the agents. The
simulation results show the same tendencies of behaviour as the observed human
games.
* [33] Agent-Based Simulation of the Trust and Tracing Game for Supply Chains
and Networks, Dmytro Tykhonov, Catholijn Jonker, Sebastiaan Meijer and Tim
Verwaart, 2008/6/30, JASSS 11(3)
* Contributed by [34] Carlos Gershenson
[33] http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/11/3/1.html
[34] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
14.01. Modelling Socio-Technical Transition Patterns and Pathways , JASSS
Excerpt: We report on research that is developing a simulation model for
assessing systemic innovations, or 'transitions', of societal systems towards a
more sustainable development. Our overall aim is to outline design principles
for models that can offer new insights into tackling persistent problems in
large-scale systems, such as the European road transport system or the regional
management of water resources.
* [35] Modelling Socio-Technical Transition Patterns and Pathways, Noam
Bergman, Alex Haxeltine, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Jonathan Köhler, Michel
Schilperoord and Jan Rotmans, 2008/6/30, JASSS 11(3)
* Contributed by [36] Carlos Gershenson
[35] http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/11/3/7.html
[36] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
14.02. Evolution of Evolvability in Gene Regulatory Networks , PLoS Comput Biol
Excerpt: A cell receives signals both from its internal and external
environment and responds by changing the expression of genes. In this manner
the cell adjusts to heat, osmotic pressures and other circumstances during its
lifetime. Over long timescales, the network of interacting genes and its
regulatory actions also undergo evolutionary adaptation. Yet how do such
networks evolve and become adapted?
In this paper we describe the study of a simple model of gene regulatory
networks, focusing solely on evolutionary adaptation most fit.
* [37] Evolution of Evolvability in Gene Regulatory Networks, Anton Crombach,
Paulien Hogeweg, 2008/07/11, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000112, PLoS Comput
Biol 4(7): e1000112
* Contributed by [38] Carlos Gershenson
[37] http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000112
[38] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
15. Emergence and Collapse of Peace with Friend Selection Strategies , JASSS
Abstract: A society consisting of agents who can freely choose to attack or not
to attack others inevitably evolves into a battling society (a 'war of all
against all'). We investigated whether strategies based on C. Schmitt's concept
of the political, the distinction of a friend and an enemy, lead to the
emergence and collapse of social order. Especially, we propose 'friend
selection strategies' (FSSs), one of which we called the 'us-TFT' (tit for tat)
strategy, which requires an agent to regard one who did not attack him or his
'friends' as a 'friend'. We carried out evolutionary simulations on an
artificial society consisting of FSS agents. As a result, we found that the
us-TFT results in a peaceful society with the emergence of an us-TFT community.
In addition, we found that the collapse of a peaceful society is triggered by
another FSS strategy called a 'coward'.
* [39] Emergence and Collapse of Peace with Friend Selection Strategies, Yutaka
Nakai and Masayoshi Muto, 2008/6/30, JASSS 11(3)
* Contributed by [40] Carlos Gershenson
[39] http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/11/3/6.html
[40] http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
_________________________________________________________________
16. Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Self-Assembling Systems ,
Science
Excerpts: Relentless increases in the size and performance of multiprocessor
computers, coupled with new algorithms and methods, have led to novel
applications of simulations across chemistry. This Perspective focuses on the
use of classical molecular dynamics and so-called coarse-grain (CG) models to
explore phenomena involving self-assembly in complex fluids and biological
systems. (...) These massive calculations are indeed successes for
high-performance computing, notwithstanding the fact that the time scale of the
molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories on million-atom systems is typically less
than 100 ns.
* [41] Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Self-Assembling Systems,
Michael L. Klein , Wataru Shinoda, 08/08/08, Science : 798-800.
[41] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/798
_________________________________________________________________
16.01. Problem Solved* (*sort of) , Science
Excerpts: Researchers have toiled for decades to understand how floppy chains
of amino acids fold into functional proteins. Learning many of those rules has
brought them to the verge of being able to make predictions about proteins they
haven't even discovered. (...) Today, the protein-folding challenge boils down
to two separate but related questions. First, what general rules govern how,
and how quickly, proteins fold? Second, can researchers predict the 3D shape
that an unknown protein will adopt?
* [42] Problem Solved* (*sort of), Robert F. Service, 08/08/08, DOI:
10.1126/science.321.5890.784, Science: Vol. 321. no. 5890, pp. 784 - 786
[42] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/784
_________________________________________________________________
17. Invisible Hand, And A Quick One At That , Science News
Excerpts: But, to a quantum mechanics skeptic, it's as if one photon let the
other know what value to pick. For one photon's choice to affect the other's,
information would have to travel the 18 kilometers separating the two towns in
virtually no time. The team couldn't prove that information traveled
instantaneously. But because their experimental errors were limited to time
differences of less than one-third of a billionth of a second, they could prove
that - if one photon influenced the other - the information must have traveled
at least 10,000 times faster than light.
* [43] Invisible Hand, And A Quick One At That, Davide Castelvecchi, 08/08/13,
Science News
[43]
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35193/title/Invisible_hand%2C_and_a_
quick_one_at_that
_________________________________________________________________
18. Astronomy: Planetary System Formation , Science
Excerpts: To date, 307 extrasolar planets have been discovered and 29
multipleplanet systems have been identified ( [44] 1, [45] 2). The masses of
the planets range from a few Earth masses up to several Jupiter masses, with
orbital periods ranging from slightly over 1 day to several years. Unlike in
our solar system, the orbital eccentricities of the extrasolar gas giant-sized
planets may be large.
* [46] Astronomy: Planetary System Formation, J. C. B. Papaloizou, 08/08/08,
Science : 777-778.
[44] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/777#ref1
[45] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/777#ref2
[46] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5890/777
_________________________________________________________________
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
_________________________________________________________________
19.01. Al-Qaeda Said to Use Regional Strife to Tighten Grip in Pakistan ,
Washington Post
Excerpts: Al-Qaeda has exploited recent political turmoil in Pakistan to
strengthen its foothold along the country's border with Afghanistan, a top U.S.
counterterrorism official said yesterday in an assessment that also warned of a
heightened risk of attack during the upcoming U.S. election season. Despite
the loss of key leaders to U.S. strikes, Osama bin Laden continues to enjoy a
haven in the border region and has managed to deepen alliances with a wide
range of Islamist groups from South Asia to the Middle East, (...).
* [47] Al-Qaeda Said to Use Regional Strife to Tighten Grip in Pakistan, Joby
Warrick, 08/08/13, Washington Post
[47]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/12/AR2008081202884
.html
_________________________________________________________________
20. Links & Snippets
_________________________________________________________________
20.01. Other Publications
- iPhone 'Blacklist' Reported: Handset Could Be Able To Phone Home, Delete Bad
Apps, 2008/08/07, vnunet.com
- The Ascent of the Abundant: How Mutational Networks Constrain Evolution,
2008/07/18, PLoS Comput Biol 4(7): e1000110, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000110
- Simple Heuristics in Complex Networks: Models of Social Influence, 2008/6/30,
JASSS 11(3)
- Agent-Based Emergency Evacuation Simulation with Individuals with
Disabilities in the Population, 2008/6/30, JASSS 11(3)
- Book Review: The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught,
and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You, 2008/6/30, JASSS 11(3)
- Computing Squared, 2008/08/07, Innovations-report
- Cracking The Question Of Extraterrestrial Life, 2008/08/08,
Innovations-report
- "Edible Optics" Could Make Food Safer, 2008/08/08, Innovations-report
- The Look Of Royalty: Visual And Odour Signals Of Reproductive Status In A
Paper Wasp, 2008/08/05, Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, DOI:
10.1098/rspb.2008.0589
- Dynamic Mechanical Oscillations During Metamorphosis Of The Monarch
Butterfly, 2008/08/05, Interface, DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2008.0224
- Neurobiologists Discover Individuals Who 'Hear' Movement, 2008/08/07,
ScienceDaily & California Institute of Technology
- A New Similarity Computing Method Based On Concept Similarity In Chinese Text
Processing, Sep. 2008, online 2008/08/07, Journal Science in China Series F:
Information Sciences, DOI: 10.1007/s11432-008-0103-4
- Computational Intelligence Approaches For Pattern Discovery In Biological
Systems, Jul. 2008, online 2008/05/05, Briefings in Bioinformatics, DOI:
10.1093/bib/bbn021
- Astronomy: Planetary System Formation, 08/08/08, Science: 777-778.
The diversity of extrasolar planets and planetary systems challenges present
theories of planetary system formation.
_________________________________________________________________
20.02. Webcast Announcements
[48]
Can Ants Solve Traffic Jams?, Danielle Parsons, Slatev.com, 08/07/22
As roads and highways become ever more clogged, Danielle Parsons tells us how
researchers are studying ways to learn from nature's own traffic-flow experts:
ants.
7th Intl Conf on Complex Systems (ICCS), Boston, MA, 07/10/28-11/02
[49]
Reseau Nationale des Systemes Complexes , (in French), 2007
[50] 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
[51] An Afternoon with Michael Crichton, Washington, 05/11/06
[52]
Illuminating the Shadow of the Future, Ann Arbor, Mi 05/09/23-25
[53]
Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems - Brainstorming
Meeting, Paris, France 05/09/19-23
[54]
Complexity, Science & Society Conference 2005, U. Liverpool, UK 2005/09/11-14
[55]
ECAL 2005 - VIIIth European Conference on Artificial Life,
Canterbury, Kent, UK 2005/09/5-9
[56]
T. Irene Sanders, Executive Director and Founder, [57] The Washington Center
for Complexity & Public Policy, 05/08/27, QuickTime video (10:38 min), [58]
Podcast
[59] 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
[60] Understanding Complex Systems - Computational Complexity and
Bioinformatics, Virtual Conference Network, Urbana-Champaign, Il, UIUC,
05/05/16-19
[61] 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
[62]
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
[48] http://www.slatev.com/player.html?id=1681718043 target=new
[49] http://webcast.in2p3.fr/RNSC/ target=new
[50]
http://gaia.world-television.com/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2008/Targe
t=new
[51] http://www.complexsys.org/news.htm target=new
[52] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05ISF/index.html target=new
[53] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ONCECS05/ target=new
[54] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/CSS05/ target=new
[55] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ECAL2005/ target=new
[56] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders0508.mov target=new
[57] http://www.complexsys.org/ target=new
[58] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Sanders0508/Sanders.mp3
[59] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05NASPSA/ target=new
[60] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/05UCS/ target=new
[61] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/Nicolis05/Target=new
[62] http://complexity.vub.ac.be/~comdig/ECCS04/Target=new
_________________________________________________________________
20.03. Conference Announcements
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
BICS Conference - Emergence in Complex Systems,
Bath, UK, 08/09/09-11
5th European
Conference on Complex Systems, Jerusalem, Israel, 08/09/14-19
EPOS 2008, III Edition of Epistemological Perspectives on Simulation, Lisbon,
Portugal, 08/10/02-03
1st Intl Conf on the Evolution and Development of the Universe, Paris, France,
08/10/08-09
International Congress on Complex Thought, Hermosillo , Sonora , Mexico,
08/10/21-24
What Is Computation? (How) Does Nature Compute? - 2008 Midwest NKS Conference,
Bloomington, IN, 08/10/30-11/02
2nd Intl Congress of Complex Systems in Sport (2nd ICCSS) and 10th European
Workshop of Ecological Psychology. (10th EWEP), Funchal, in Madeira Island,
Portugal, 08/11/05-08
2008 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on
Web Intelligence (WI-08), Sydney, Australia, 08/12/09-12
COMPLEX'2009, First Intl Conf on Complex Systems: Theory and Applications,
Shanghai, China, 09/02/23-25
Models and Simulations 3 Conference, Charlottesville, USA 09/03/05-07
2009 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence, Nashville, Tennessee,
USA,09/03/30-04/02
2009 IEEE Symposium on Artificial Life
IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology (CIBCB 2009)
IEEE Workshop on Evolving and Self-Developing Intelligent Systems (ESDID 2009)
IEEE Symposium on Intelligent Agents (IA 2009)
IEEE Workshop on Organic Computing (OC 2009)
IEEE Swarm Intelligence Symposium (SIS 2009)
IEEE Workshop on Evolvable and Adaptive Hardware (WEAH 2009)
_________________________________________________________________
20.04. Other Announcements
[63] PhD Studentship in Unconventional Computing or Cellular Automata,
University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, Deadline: 08/10/01
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 Gottfrieds 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
[63]
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/VB307/PhD_Studentship_in_Unconventional_Computing_or
_Cellular_Automata/
target=new
_________________________________________________________________
[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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