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Complexity Digest 2003.27 July-06-2003
Archive: http://www.comdig.org,
European Mirror: http://www.comdig.de
Asian Mirror: http://www.phil.pku.edu.cn/resguide/comdig/
(Chinese GB-Code)
"I think the next century will be the century of complexity." Stephen
Hawking, 2000
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1. Agent-Based Approach to Investors' Behavior and
Asset Price
Fluctuation in Financial
Markets, JASS
2. Who's in Charge?, American Scientist
2.1. The Value of
Positive Emotions, American Scientist
3. Author Sees Molecular Future In Corporate World,
Boston Globe
3.1. Dynamics Between
Order And Chaos In A Simple Reentrant
Model, Int. J. Bifur. and Chaos
4. Medicare Cures Prove Easy To Presribe, Tricky to
Predict, Wall
Street Journal
4.1. Find-A-Drug Attacks
Aids With Grid Technology, Grid Today
5. Alzheimer's Disease, The Molecular Origins Of The
Disease Are
Coming To Light, American
Scientist
5.1. Neurobiology:
Synapses Unplugged, Nature
6. Myosin Motors Walk the Walk, Science
6.1. Myosin V Walks
Hand-Over-Hand, Nature
6.2. Telomeres: Taking
The Measure, Nature
6.3. Telomeres Shorten
More Slowly In Long-Lived Birds And
Mammals, Proc. Biol. Sc.
7. Plant Hydraulics: The Ascent Of Water, Nature
8. Opposites Do Not Attract In Mating Game, New
Scientist
8.1. Nature's Magic:
Synergy in Evolution and the Fate of
Humankind, Cambridge University Press
8.2. The Emergent
Properties Of A Dolphin Social Network,
Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett
9. What Does It Take To Evolve Behaviorally Complex
Organisms?,
Biosystems
9.1. The Small-World
Dynamics Of Tree Networks And Data Mining
In Phyloinformatics, Bioinformatics
10. Form And Function: A Neuronal Dialog, Brain and Mind
11. Error-driven Emergence with Parallel Non-distributed
Slime
Mold Computer, Biosystems
11.1. Quantum Information
With Neutral Atoms As Qubits, Phil.
Tran. A
12. Sensors of the World, Unite!, Technology Review
12.1. Spam May Sprout
Viruses In Home PCs, CNET News.com
12.2. Website Turns
Tables On Government Officials, Boston
Globe
12.3. Scientists Launch
Global Internet Research Lab, Science
13. First 3-D Assembly of Magnetic and Semiconducting
Nanoparticles, NSF Press
Release
13.1. Sorting Technique
May Boost Nanotube Research, Science
13.2. Ultracold Molecules
Pave Way for Quantum "Super
Molecule", NIST News Release
14. Accelerating Universe Theory Dispels Dark Energy, Nature
14.1. Is Cosmic Speed-Up
Due To New Gravitational Physics?,
arXiv
15. Atmospheric Physics: Electric Jets, Nature
15.1. Gigantic Jets
Between A Thundercloud And The Ionosphere,
Nature
16. Microbe-Processors, Researchers Attempt To Turn Living
Cells
Into Computers, Boston
Globe
16.1. Microbe Fuel Cell
Packs More Power, Nature Science Update
17. Why Tax Cuts Will Not Pay Off, Do Workers Really Make Hay
While The Sun Shines,
NYTimes
18. How Many Candidates Are Needed to Make Elections Hard to
Manipulate?, arXiv
18.1. Internet Helps Make
Candidate a Contender, NYTimes
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.1. Two Britons May
Face U.S. Tribunal, AP/Newsday
19.2. Cyberterroism in
Today's World, Electronic News
20. Links & Snippets
20.1. Other Publications
20.2. Webcast
Announcements
20.3. Conference &
Call for Papers Announcements
20.4. ComDig
Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test
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1. Agent-Based Approach to Investors' Behavior and Asset Price Fluctuation
in Financial Markets, JASS
Abstract: In this paper, we use Agent-Based Approach to analyze how asset
prices are affected by investors and investment systems that are based on
Behavioral Finance. We build a virtual financial market that contains two
types of investors: fundamentalists and non-fundamentalists. As a result of
intensive experiments in the market, we find that (1) the traded price
agrees with the fundamental value and the fundamentalists survive according
to the principle of natural selection in the case that the market contains
the same number of fundamentalists and trend predictors (investors who make
trend prediction), (2) the traded price largely deviates from the
fundamental value and the non-fundamentalists frequently obtain excess
returns and therefore the fundamentalists are eliminated according to the
principle of natural selection in the case that the proportion of trend
predictors is extremely high or in the case that the investment ratio of
the risk asset is restricted, and (3) the traded price largely deviates
from the fundamental value in the case that the non-fundamentalists
estimate the losses excessively, as pointed in Prospect Theory. These
results indicate that the non-fundamentalists affect the traded prices and
obtain excess returns also in real markets.
Agent-Based Approach to Investors' Behavior and Asset Price Fluctuation in
Financial Markets #source1 JASSS, Hiroshi Takahashi and Takao Terano,
2003-06-30, JASSS vol. 6, no. 3
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson
2. Who's in Charge?, American Scientist
Excerpts: (...) neural activity that begins an action starts up around a
third of a second before the agent's conscious decision to act.
Neuroscientists have frequently interpreted this as showing that decisions
are somehow illusions: (¡K)." They maintain that the action is
originally
precipitated in some part of the brain, and off fly the signals to muscles,
pausing en route to tell you, the conscious agent, what is going on (but
like all good officials letting you, the bumbling president, maintain the
illusion that you started it all).
Who's in Charge?, Simon Blackburn, American Scientist, 03/07-08, Freedom
Evolves. Daniel C. Dennett. xvi + 347 pp. Viking, 2003. $24.95.
Excerpt: Positive emotions-joy, interest and contentment-are a puzzle to
scientists. From an evolutionary point of view they don't seem to have the
same survival value as negative emotions such as fear or anger. The
negative emotions elicit specific actions to run or attack, which must
surely have helped our ancestors survive the dangers of life on the
savannah. But what's the survival value of feeling joy or contentment?
Psychologist Fredrickson argues that positive emotions allowed our
ancestors to broaden their minds and build resources-intellectual, physical
and social-that served them in good stead during hard times.
The Value of Positive Emotions, American Scientist, 03/07-08, The emerging
science of positive psychology is coming to understand why it's good to
feel good Barbara L. Fredrickson
3. Author Sees Molecular Future In Corporate World, Boston Globe
Excerpt: " The book, just published, charts out a new approach to corporate
growth and innovation. ''It's Alive,'' by Christopher Meyer and Stan Davis,
contends that the future of business is molecular, that biology and
evolution are the new models for the next exciting leaps in the world of
business. And we're not just talking about scientific advances. ''It's
Alive,'' subtitled ''The Coming Convergence of Information, Biology and
Business,'' is full of biological metaphors to explain the way business in
general works, the way it will work. The future of management and product
development is explained in terms of concepts like adaptation,
recombination, coevolution, and emergence."
Author Sees Molecular Future In Corporate World, D.C. Denison, Boston
Globe, 6/29/2003
Abstract: We consider a simple reentrant model of a manufacturing process,
consisting of one machine at which two different types of items have to be
processed. The model is completely deterministic: all delivery and
processing times are fixed, and are generally incommensurate. Dependent on
the arrival and processing times, a queue of waiting items grows, remains
constant or disappears. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the system
crucially depends on the queue type. Complexity is most observed for the
case of growing queue.
Dynamics Between Order And Chaos In A Simple Reentrant Model Of Production
Dynamics, I. Katzorke & A. Pikovsky, Int. J. Bifur. and Chaos, Vol. 13, No.
5, pp:1343-1351, May 2003, doi:10.1142/S021812740300728X
Contributed by Pritha Das
4. Medicare Cures Prove Easy To Presribe, Tricky to Predict, Wall
Street
Journal
Excerpts: (...) Medicare has surprised those who created, changed and
managed it. Predicting the speed and direction of medical progress has
proved impossible, and it hasn't been much easier to predict how patients
and the health-care industry will react to governmental fine-tuning. (...)
But Medicare is a leading example of the law of unintended consequences.
It's a living laboratory in which science moves in unpredictable spurts,
government-created incentives often do much more or much less than
expected, profit-minded entrepreneurs exploit unintended loopholes and
costs squeezed out of one place pop up elsewhere.
Medicare Cures Prove Easy To Presribe, Tricky to Predict, David Wessel,
Wall Street Journal, 03/06/30
Excerpt: Find-a-Drug is pleased to announce the start of its HIV project.
(...), PC owners may participate in the project by downloading the THINK
software and molecules from http://www.find-a-drug.org.
The information
about protein and molecule data as well are encrypted to ensure that it is
securely transmitted between the PCs and Find-a-Drug Internet servers. This
is a necessary and valuable precaution in order to prevent the introduction
of a harmful agent such as a virus on to the computers. Once installed, the
software does not require any interaction by the owner (...).
Find-A-Drug Attacks Aids With Grid Technology, Grid Today, 03/07/01
5. Alzheimer's Disease, The Molecular Origins Of The Disease Are Coming
To Light, American Scientist
Excerpt: Alzheimer's disease follows the same course whether you get it at
50 or 85. By uncovering the genetics and molecular biology of Alzheimer's,
scientists can now explain this observation and many other aspects of the
disease at a mechanistic level. In this article, the author explains the
state-of-the-art understanding of how the disease works, and shows how
recent findings have helped identify new possibilities for interrupting the
process. Several next-generation strategies for treating the disease are
discussed, including the author's own development of decoy peptides that
bind and inactivate the main Alzheimer's culprit.
Alzheimer's Disease, The Molecular Origins Of The Disease Are Coming To
Light, Suggesting Several Novel Therapies, Vernon M. Ingram, American
Scientist, 03/07-08
Excerpts: At the junctions between two neurons, the machinery that releases
neurotransmitter from one cell must lie near calcium channels and align
with detectors in the receiving cell. (¡K)
The computational power of the brain depends on the precise connections, or
synapses, that link together the many billions of nerve cells. (¡K)
The rapidity with which calcium influx leads to neurotransmitter release
(within 200 microseconds) means that the voltage-gated calcium channels
must be very close to - perhaps even physically associated with - the
molecular machinery that releases the neurotransmitter from the cell.
Neurobiology: Synapses Unplugged, J. Troy Littleton, Morgan Sheng, Nature
423, 931 - 932 (26 June 2003); doi:10.1038/423931a
6. Myosin Motors Walk the Walk, Science
Excerpts: (¡K) myosin V is a molecular motor that moves along actin
filaments powered by the hydrolysis of ATP. However, unlike muscle myosin,
which depends on teamwork for movement, myosin V works alone to move
intracellular vesicles around cells. A hotly debated question is whether
the two heads of the myosin V motor move along an actin filament in a
hand-over-hand manner (akin to human walking), or whether they shuffle
along one behind the other like "inchworms." (¡K) data that are
consistent
with the "hand-over-hand" model.
Myosin Motors Walk the Walk, Justin E. Molloy and Claudia Veigel, Science
2003 300: 2045-2046.
Excerpts: Myosin V is a dimeric molecular motor that moves processively on
actin, with the center of mass moving 37 nanometers for each adenosine
triphosphate hydrolyzed. We have (¡K) measured the step size with a
standard deviation of <1.5 nanometers, with 0.5-second temporal resolution,
and observation times of minutes. The step size alternates between 37 + 2x
nm and 37 - 2x, where x is the distance along the direction of motion
between the dye and the midpoint between the two heads. These results
strongly support a hand-over-hand model of motility, not an inchworm model.
Myosin V Walks Hand-Over-Hand: Single Fluorophore Imaging with 1.5-nm
Localization, Ahmet Yildiz, Joseph N. Forkey, Sean A. McKinney, Taekjip Ha,
Yale E. Goldman, Paul R. Selvin, Science 2003 300: 2061-2065.
Excerpts: Telomeres - the tips of chromosomes - need to be preserved, and
this involves replenishing telomeric DNA when it has been eroded. But
telomeres must not become too long, and one aspect of length control is now
revealed.
In every organism, maintaining the integrity of the genome is a crucial
endeavour. One aspect of genome maintenance involves protecting telomeres,
the natural ends of linear chromosomes. This task is achieved by a suite of
specialized protein complexes, which are anchored to chromosome ends (¡K)
that bind directly to telomeric DNA.
Telomeres: Taking The Measure, Vicki Lundblad, Nature 423, 926 - 927 (26
June 2003); doi:10.1038/423926a
Abstract: We know very little about physiological constraints on (¡K) the
evolution of variation in lifespan. Identifying mechanisms that underlie
adaptive variation in lifespan should provide insight into the evolution of
trade-offs between lifespan and other life-history traits. Telomeres, the
DNA caps at the ends of linear chromosomes, usually shorten as animals age,
but whether telomere rate of change is associated with lifespan is unknown.
We measured telomere length in erythrocytes from five bird species with
markedly different lifespans. Species with shorter lifespans lost more
telomeric repeats with age than species with longer lifespans.
Telomeres Shorten More Slowly In Long-Lived Birds And Mammals Than In
Short-Lived Ones, M. F. Haussmann, D. W. Winkler, K. M. O'Reilly, C. E.
Huntington, I. C. T. Nisbet, C. M. Vleck, Proc. Biol. Sc., Vol.: 270,
Number:1522, pp:1387-1392, 2003/07/07, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2385
Contributed by Atin Das
7. Plant Hydraulics: The Ascent Of Water, Nature
Excerpts: The transport system that drives sap ascent from soil to leaves
is extraordinary and controversial. Like their animal counterparts, large
multicellular plants need to supply all their cells with fuel and water.
(¡K) Plants took a different route to solve the problem of osmoregulation,
encasing each cell in a rigid exoskeleton, the cell wall. But this rigidity
brought with it a lack of mobility (¡K). Plant tissues were too rigid to
evolve a pump mechanism for long-distance transport. So what force is
responsible for the ascent of water in plants?
Plant Hydraulics: The Ascent Of Water, Melvin T. Tyree, Nature 423, 923 (26
June 2003); doi:10.1038/423923a
8. Opposites Do Not Attract In Mating Game, New Scientist
Excerpts: While some celebrity marriages may fit this pattern, most men and
women are seeking a mate who is similar to them in qualities such as
income, beauty, and desire to have children.
The new study flouts the traditionally accepted views that, to maximise our
ability to reproduce, men are seeking young, attractive women who are
likely to bear them children while women are seeking older, successful men
who have the resources to support and protect their young. (¡K)
Unions of "like" individuals are more advantageous from an
evolutionary
perspective (¡K).
Opposites Do Not Attract In Mating Game, Catherine Zandonella, New
Scientist, 03/06/30
Excerpt: Corning proposes that synergy is not only a ubiquitous phenomenon
in the natural world but it is also a wellspring of creativity and the
"driver" of the broad evolutionary trend toward increased complexity,
in
nature and human societies alike. In contrast with the many theories of
emergence or complexity that rely on some underlying force or "law,"
the
"Synergism Hypothesis," as Corning calls it, is in essence an economic
(or
"bioeconomic") theory of biological complexity; it is fully consistent
with
mainstream evolutionary biology. (...) Synergy has also played a key role
in the evolution of complex modern societies, he concludes.
Nature's Magic: Synergy in Evolution and the Fate of Humankind, Peter
Corning, Cambridge University Press, Book Description
Abstract: Many complex networks, including human societies, have emerging
properties that allow information to be exchanged quickly among members.
This study demonstrates that animal societies also organise in a manner
that permits a quick and efficient transfer of information. The community
of bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, has a structure
similar to human and human-made networks. However, contrary to previously
studied networks, the cohesiveness of this dolphin community remains
unaffected by the removal of key individuals. This property could be
applied to human-made networks, such as the World-Wide Web, that are
seriously damaged by attacks that remove key nodes.
The Emergent Properties Of A Dolphin Social Network, D. Lusseau,
Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett., 2003/06/30
Contributed by Atin Das
9. What Does It Take To Evolve Behaviorally Complex Organisms?,
Biosystems
Abstract: What genotypic features explain the evolvability of organisms
that have to accomplish many different tasks? The genotype of behaviorally
complex organisms may be more likely to encode modular neural architectures
because neural modules dedicated to distinct tasks avoid neural
interference, i.e. the arrival of conflicting messages for changing the
value of connection weights during learning. (¡K) favorable mutations may
fall on one portion of the genotype encoding one neural module and
unfavorable mutations on another portion encoding another module. We show
that this can prevent the genotype from reaching an adaptive optimum.
What Does It Take To Evolve Behaviorally Complex Organisms?, R. Calabretta,
A. Di Ferdinando, G. P. Wagner & D. Parisi, Biosystems, Vol. 69, Issues
2-3, pp:245-262, May 2003, doi:10.1016/S0303-2647(02)00140-5
Contributed by Pritha Das
Abstract: A noble and ultimate objective of phyloinformatic research is to
assemble, synthesize, and explore the evolutionary history of life on
earth. (¡K) network connectivity dynamics will play an important role in
future methods. Here we apply similar analyses to networks of phylogenetic
trees in order to understand how synthetic information can emerge from a
database of phylogenies Analyses (¡K) show that a collection of
phylogenetic trees behaves as a small-world network¡Xwhile on the one hand
the trees are clustered (¡K). More stringent definitions of ¡¥neighbour¡¦
greatly delay the threshold whence a database achieves sufficient maturity
for a coherent network to emerge
The Small-World Dynamics Of Tree Networks And Data Mining In
Phyloinformatics, Piel W.H, Sanderson M.J., Donoghue M.J., Bioinformatics,
Vol. 19, no. 9, pp:1162-1168(7), Jun. 2003
Contributed by Pritha Das
10. Form And Function: A Neuronal Dialog, Brain and Mind
Abstract: The influence of electrical activity as a regulator of early
developmental events such as proliferation and migration is being
considered. Spontaneous neuronal activity may influence early axonal and
dendritic arbor (¡K). Electrical (or ¡¥neural¡¦)
activity is important for
synapse stabilization and circuit formation and sensory experience performs
a refinement of neuronal shape. This fine-tuning appears to be a dynamical
process sustained into adulthood, with smaller scale changes occurring
mainly at the dendritic spine level. Events at dendritic spines underlie
alterations in the morphology of individual neurons that will ultimately
affect the function of complex neuronal networks.
Form And Function: A Neuronal Dialog, M. Rocha, D. A. Furtado, J. R. L.
Menezes & C. H. Pereira, Brain and Mind, 4 (1): 3-25, Apr. 2003
Contributed by Pritha Das
11. Error-driven Emergence with Parallel Non-distributed Slime Mold
Computer, Biosystems
Abstract: The emergence derived from errors is the key importance for both
novel computing and novel usage of the computer. In this paper, we propose
an implementable experimental plan for the biological computing so as to
elicit the emergent property of complex systems. An individual plasmodium
of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum acts in the slime mold
computer. Modifying the Elementary Cellular Automaton as it entails the
global synchronization problem upon the parallel computing provides the
NP-complete problem solved by the slime mold computer. The possibility to
solve the problem by giving neither all possible results nor explicit
prescription of solution-seeking is discussed. In slime mold computing, the
distributivity in the local computing logic can change dynamically, and its
parallel non-distributed computing cannot be reduced into the spatial
addition of multiple serial computings. The computing system based on
exhaustive absence of the super-system may produce, something more than
filling the vacancy.
Beyond Input-Output Computings: Error-driven Emergence with Parallel
Non-distributed Slime Mold Computer, Masashi Aono, Yukio-Pegio Gunji,
2003-06-28, DOI: 10.1016/S0303-2647(03)00085-6, Biosystems, Article in
Press, Corrected Proof
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson
Abstract: One of the essential features of a quantum computer is a quantum
'register' of well-characterized qubits. Neutral atoms in optical lattices
are a natural candidate for such a register. We have demonstrated a
patterned-loading technique that can be used to load atoms into large
arrays of tightly confined but optically resolvable lattice sites. We have
also seen preliminary indications of the Mott-insulator transition, which
provides a route for single-atom initialization of the individual sites.
Combining the two experiments should allow for large arrays of individually
addressable single atoms, a system which provides a starting point for
further quantum computation studies.
Quantum Information With Neutral Atoms As Qubits, J. V. Porto, S. Rolston,
B. Laburthe Tolra, C. J. Williams & W. D. Phillips, Phil. Tran. A: Math.,
Physical & Eng. Sc., Vol.: 361, Number:1808, pp:1417-1427, 2003/07/15, DOI:
10.1098/rsta.2003.1211
Contributed by Atin Das
12. Sensors of the World, Unite!, Technology Review
Excerpt: Imagine sprinkling tiny sensors on road and fields for
surveillance, putting them in buildings and bridges to monitor structural
health, and installing them in industrial facilities to manage energy,
inventory and manufacturing processes.That's the idea behind the emerging
technology of wireless sensor networks (see "Casting the Wireless Sensor
Net").
Boston-based Ember is at the epicenter of this field. The MIT spinoff sells
radio chips with embedded processors that can organize themselves into
networks to manage real-world data from sensors.
Sensors of the World, Unite!, Technology Review, 03/06/27
Excerpts: Junk e-mailers are spreading viruses that let them send spam
anonymously through home computers (¡K).
The company, MessageLabs, operates servers that block spam and viruses for
its clients. Its analysis of data shows that mass distributions of junk
e-mail are increasingly coming from the Internet addresses of computers
that have in the past sent out viruses as e-mail attachments. (¡K)
Open proxies, also known as open relays, are computers that can resend
e-mail or other network data, erasing the original address information that
could identify the source of the traffic.
Spam May Sprout Viruses In Home PCs, Robert Lemos, CNET News.com, 03/06/27
Excerpts: The system will start by offering standard background information
on politicians, but then go one bold step further, by asking Internet users
to submit their own intelligence reports on government officials -- reports
that will be published with no effort to verify their accuracy. (¡K)
But GIA will go one step further. Starting today, the site will allow the
public to submit information about government officials, and this
information will be made available to anyone visiting the site. No effort
will be made to verify the accuracy of the data.
Website Turns Tables On Government Officials, Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe,
03/07/04
Excerpt: Planting the seeds for tomorrow's Internet, a group of researchers
announced this week that it's launched a new virtual Internet research
laboratory. Called PlanetLab, the collaboration consists of researchers
from 60 universities in 16 countries as well as from computer giants Intel
and Hewlett-Packard. The new partnership aims to build a proving ground for
applications that could enable the Internet to monitor itself for viruses
and worms, recall Web pages long after they've disappeared, and develop
other powerful new capabilities.
Scientists Launch Global Internet Research Lab, Robert F. Service, Science
2003 300: 2016-
13. First 3-D Assembly of Magnetic and Semiconducting Nanoparticles, NSF
Press Release
Excerpts: The particle sizes were calculated from the mathematical ideal of
the structures they wanted to create. In addition to fine-tuning the sizes,
the particles had to be very uniform, all within 5 percent of the target
size. (...)
Next, Redl assembled the nanoparticles-or more to the point, had the
particles assemble themselves-into three different repeating 3-D patterns
by tailoring the experimental conditions. Forming these so-called "crystal
structures," as opposed to random mixtures of nanoparticles, is essential
for the composite material to exhibit consistent, predictable behaviors.
First 3-D Assembly of Magnetic and Semiconducting Nanoparticles, NSF Press
Release, 03/06/25
Excerpt: Nanotubes' ability to conduct electricity either like metals or
like semiconductors, depending on their precise atomic arrangement, has
made them the darlings of molecular electronics and led to their
incorporation into a wide range of nanosized building blocks of computer
circuitry. But the method used to produce nanotubes--zapping graphite with
either a laser or an electric jolt--creates a jumble of metallic and
semiconducting tubes, and so far there has been no way to separate them.
Now a new scheme may greatly reduce nanotube researchers' headaches.
Sorting Technique May Boost Nanotube Research, Robert F. Service, Science
2003 300: 2018-
Excerpts: They paired individual potassium atoms belonging to a class of
particles called fermions into molecules that are part of a fundamentally
different class of particles known as bosons. Though the transformation
lasts only a millisecond, the implications may be long lasting.
(¡K) step toward creating a "super molecule," a blend of
thousands of
molecules acting in unison that would provide physicists with an excellent
tool for studying molecular quantum mechanics and superconductivity. (¡K)
Creation of a "super atom" (known as a Bose-Einstein condensate or BEC
Ultracold Molecules Pave Way for Quantum "Super Molecule", Achievement
Could Improve Understanding of Superconductivity, NIST News Release, 03/07/02
14. Accelerating Universe Theory Dispels Dark Energy, Nature
Excerpts: The accelerating expansion of the Universe can be explained
without invoking a force of dark energy, a group of US physicists is
proposing1. Gravity alone might be driving everything apart with
ever-increasing speed, they claim. (¡K)
In Einstein's theory of general relativity, matter alters gravity by
curving space-time, like a bowling ball on a rubber sheet. Turner and his
colleagues have added a term to Einstein's equations that strengthens as
the Universe flattens.
Accelerating Universe Theory Dispels Dark Energy, John Whitfield, Nature
Science Update, 03/07/03
Abstract: We show that cosmic acceleration can arise due to very tiny
corrections to the usual gravitational action of General Relativity of the
form $R^n$, with $n<0$. This eliminates the need for dark energy, though it
does not address the cosmological constant problem. Since a modification to
the Einstein-Hilbert action of the form $R^n$, with $n>0$, can lead to
early-time inflation, our proposal provides a unified and purely
gravitational origin for the early and late time accelerating phases of the
Universe.
Is Cosmic Speed-Up Due To New Gravitational Physics?, (2003), Carroll, S.
M., Duvvuri, V., Trodden, M., Turner, M. S., arXiv, 03/06/22
15. Atmospheric Physics: Electric Jets, Nature
Excerpts: Powerful electric currents have been detected in discharges
between thunderclouds and the upper atmosphere. Carried by gigantic jets,
they are a new factor in the model of the Earth's electrical and chemical
environment.
Although cloud-to-ground lightning is a familiar disruption in the modern
electronic world, lightning formed above the clouds is also an important
factor in what is known as the global circuit of atmospheric electricity.
Radio atmospherics are natural electromagnetic emissions from lightning
discharges and can propagate thousands of kilometres through the
'waveguide' formed by the Earth's surface (¡K).
Atmospheric Physics: Electric Jets, Victor P. Pasko, Nature 423, 927 - 929
(26 June 2003); doi:10.1038/423927a
Excerpt: Transient luminous events in the atmosphere, such as
lighting-induced sprites and upwardly discharging blue jets, were
discovered recently in the region between thunderclouds and the ionosphere.
(¡K) Our result indicates that the extremely-low-frequency waves were
generated by negative cloud-to-ionosphere discharges, which would reduce
the electrical potential between ionosphere and ground. Therefore, the
conventional picture of the global electric circuit needs to be modified to
include the contributions of gigantic jets and possibly sprites.
Gigantic Jets Between A Thundercloud And The Ionosphere, H. T. Su, R. R.
Hsu, A. B. Chen, Y. C. Wang, W. S. Hsiao, W. C. Lai, L. C. Lee, M. Sato, H.
Fukunishi, Nature 423, 974 - 976 (26 June 2003); doi:10.1038/nature01759
16. Microbe-Processors, Researchers Attempt To Turn Living Cells Into
Computers, Boston Globe
Excerpts: Of course, bacteria aren't exactly silicon chips, and while cells
have the advantage of being very compact, silicon will be hard to beat
(¡K). Computer chips rely on the precise and nearly-instantaneous
manipulation of zeros and ones. Biochemical reactions, on the other hand,
are slow even by human standards, taking minutes for proteins to travel
within and between cells. And even the behavior of small, isolated genetic
networks can be hard to predict, not to mention open to interference from
all the proteins and chemicals floating around inside a living cell.
Microbe-Processors Researchers Attempt To Turn Living Cells Into Computers,
Jascha Hoffman, Boston Globe, 03/07/01
Excerpts: (¡K) a prototype microbial fuel cell that captures the energy
produced by Escherichia coli as it feeds on sugar1. Making up to 150
milliamps, the bacterial battery can drive a medical ventilator, for example.
Many microorganisms convert sugars and other carbohydrates to alcohols,
acids and carbon dioxide. When no air is present, this fermentation process
can also produce hydrogen - the fuel in most fuel cells, such as those
being developed for 'green' electric vehicles. The energy released by the
reaction of the gas with oxygen generates electricity.
Microbe Fuel Cell Packs More Power, Philip Ball, Nature Science Update,
03/07/04,
17. Why Tax Cuts Will Not Pay Off, Do Workers Really Make Hay While The Sun
Shines, NYTimes
Abstract: Alan B Krueger Economic Scene column on conflicting results of
studies to determine whether people will work more if their take-home pay
rate rises, core tenet of supply-side economics; says there is little
reason to believe that recently enacted tax cuts will increase work effort
if they are preceived as permanent; photo (M) A CORE tenet of supply-side
economics is that people will work more if their take-home pay rate rises.
Support for this proposition has proved surprisingly difficult to find,
however, especially in regard to men.
Why Tax Cuts Will Not Pay Off, Do Workers Really Make Hay While The Sun
Shines, Alan B. Krueger, NYTimes, 03/06/26
18. How Many Candidates Are Needed to Make Elections Hard to Manipulate?, arXiv
Excerpts: In multiagent settings where the agents have different
preferences, preference aggregation is a central issue. Voting is a general
method for preference aggregation, but seminal results have shown that all
general voting protocols are manipulable. (...) It turns out that the
voting protocols under study become hard to manipulate at 3 candidates, 4
candidates, 7 candidates, or never.
How Many Candidates Are Needed to Make Elections Hard to Manipulate?,
Vincent Conitzer, Jerome Lang, Tuomas Sandholm, 2003-07-2, DOI:
cs.GT/0307003, arXiv
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson
Excerpt: Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for
president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the
Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.
Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and
attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a
growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called
Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.
Internet Helps Make Candidate a Contender, Michael Janofsky, NYTimes,
03/07/05.
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
Excerpt: U.S. officials have refused to identify the six detainees, but
said all were suspected of being either members of the al-Qaida terrorist
network or otherwise involved in terrorism. The next step is for a
prosecutor to draft charges.
Begg's father, Azmat Begg, said he feared his son would not receive a fair
trial.
"The trial will be military, the judge will be military and yet my son is a
civilian," Azmat Begg said. "(¡K) If the government or military
are
appointing people in the court, that is absolutely wrong. It should be an
independent person."
Two Britons May Face U.S. Tribunal, Michael Mcdonough, AP/Newsday, 03/07/04
Excerpt: An emerging class of terrorists -- cyberterrorists -- may be
aggregating their resources and preparing to launch attacks to cripple the
computer networks of American companies, organizations, and governments,
hampering business operations and costing untold amounts to correct.
What does this worst-case scenario mean to individual citizens? Not much;
the people in charge are on the case. Thanks to the century-plus legacy of
secure telephony networks, the government is well prepared to keep data
networks as secure as possible.
Editor's Note: This article seems to be no longer available although the
link on Google still exists. Maybe a demonstration of the topic of the article?
Cyberterroism in Today's World, John Adler, Electronic News, 03/07/03
20. Links & Snippets
20.1 Other Publications
Discrete Agent Simulations of the Effect of Simple Social Structures on the
Benefits of Resource Sharing, Stephen M. Younger, 2003-06-30, JASSS vol. 6,
no. 3
Sentiment and Social Mitosis: Implications of Heider's Balance Theory,
Zhigang Wang, Warren Thorngate, 2003-06-30, JASSS vol. 6, no. 3
Network Dependence of Strong Reciprocity, R. Vilela Mendes, 2003-07-1, DOI:
nlin.AO/0307003, arXiv
Do Real Options Perform Better than Net Present Value? Testing in an
artificial financial market, Massimo Sapienza, 2003-06-30, JASSS vol. 6, no. 3
Crossover Behaviour of 3-Species Systems with Mutations or Migrations,
Margarita Ifti, Birger Bergersen, 2003-07-2, arXiv
State Complexes for Metamorphic Robots, A. Abrams, R. Ghrist, 2003-07-2, arXiv
Deterministic Uncertainty, Bartosz Telenczuk, Miroslaw Latka, Bruce J.
West, 2003-06-27, arXiv
A Model for Prejudiced Learning in Noisy Environments, Andreas U. Schmidt,
2003-06-26, arXiv
The Sentient Office Is Coming, The Economist , 03/06/19, Sentient computing
systems are likely to be everywhere within five years --listening and
watching, and ready to anticipate their users'every need.
Quantum Erasure, Stephen P. Walborn, Marcelo O. Terra Cunha, Sebastiao
Padua, Carlos H. Monken, , American Scientist, 03/07-08, In quantum
mechanics, there are two sides to every story, but only one can be seen at
a time. Experiments show that "erasing" one allows the other to appear
Modeling Complexity In Economic And Social Systems, Frank Schweitzer, World
Scientific, 02/12
Genes That Affect Longevity, bio.com, News & Features, 03/06/30, Scientists
have identified the kinds of genes and systems in the body that ultimately
allow a doubling of lifespan in the roundworm, C. elegans.
New Way to Thwart Anthrax, bio.com, News & Features, 03/06/30, Researchers
have found what may be an Achilles' heel of deadly anthrax -- a system that
the bacteria use to communicate their presence to others of their kind.
How HIV Neutralizing Antibody Works, bio.com, News & Features, 03/06/30,
Scientists have found that a human antibody known as 2G12 has a unique way
of attaching to tiny proteins on the exterior of the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) and neutralizing it.
Of Mice and Memory, bio.com, News & Features, 03/06/30, Two synthetic
antioxidants that may prove to be more powerful versions of those found in
nature reversed age-related memory loss in mice.
Protein Group Vital for Synaptic Transmission, bio.com, News & Features,
03/06/30, A specific group of brain proteins is essential to activate
communication between neurons, and without this group of proteins all
functions of the central nervous system are disrupted.
Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America, Institute of Medicine
Report, 03/06/17
The Gridbus Project To Release GridSim 2.1 Toolkit, The "Open Source"
Gridbus Project led by the Grid Computing and Distributed Systems (GRIDS)
Laboratory at the University of Melbourne, Australia, is pleased to release
the next-version of Grid simulation software, the GridSim 2.1 toolkit.
The Human Dimensions Of Emerging Science And Tech, Grid Today, 03/06/30,
HASTAC (pronounced "Haystack"), the Humanities, Arts, Science, and
Technology Advanced Collaboratory, announces the launch of its consortium.....
Saving Lives with Living Machines, Hybrid devices that are part machine,
part living cells, offer new hope to patients for whom purely artificial
treatments like dialysis aren't good enough, Peter Fairley, Technology
Review, July/August 2003
NEC Unveils Methanol-Fueled Laptop, Exite News, 03/06/30
Genome Survey Finds Depression Genes, Reuters, 03/07/02
Catalyzing a Greener Fuel Economy, Catalyst converts agricultural waste to
clean-energy hydrogen gas, Science Now, 03/06/27
A Neural Knack for Grammar, New evidence shows that the brain seems to
intuitively learn syntax, Science Now, 03/06/26
Keeping Out the Competition, Male spiders die in flagrante delicto; their
corpses act as mating plugs, Science Now, 03/06/25
AIDS Vaccines: Back to 'plan A', Erika Check, Nature 423, 912 - 914 (26
June 2003); doi:10.1038/423912a
Evolution: The Battle Between The Sexes, Tom Tregenza, Nature 423, 929 -
930 (26 June 2003); doi:10.1038/423929a
Mapping Multiple Features In The Population Response Of Visual Cortex, Amit
Basole, Leonard E. White, David Fitzpatrick, Nature 423, 986 - 990 (26 June
2003); doi:10.1038/nature01721
Neuroperception: Facial Expressions Linked To Monkey Calls, Asif A.
Ghazanfar, Nikos K. Logothetis , Nature 423, 937 - 938 (26 June 2003);
doi:10.1038/423937a
Aging Affects The Engagement Of The Hippocampus During Autobiographical
Memory Retrieval, E. A. Maguire & C. D. Frith, Brain, Vol. 126, No. 7,
1511-1523, Jul. 2003, doi: 10.1093/brain/awg157
Representation Of Change: Separate Electrophysiological Markers Of
Attention, Awareness, And Implicit Processing, D. F. Duque, G. Grossi, I.
M. Thornton & H. J. Neville, J. Cognitive Neurosc., Vol. 15, Issue 4,
pp:491-507, May 2003
Vesicular Mechanisms And Estimates Of Firing Probability In A Network Of
Spiking Neurons, R. Rodrigueza, P. Lansky & V. Di Maio, Physica D, Vol.
181, Issues 1-2, pp: 132-145, 2003/07/01, doi:10.1016/S0167-2789(03)00093-9
Complexity, Initial Condition Sensitivity, Dimension And Weak Chaos In
Dynamical Systems, S. Galatolo, Nonlinearity, 16, pp:1219-1238, Jul. 2003
A Tangerine-Scented Social Odour In A Monogamous Seabird, J. C. Hagelin, I.
L. Jones & L. E. L. Rasmussen, Proc. Biol. Sc., Vol. 270, Number 1522,
pp:1323-1329, 2003/07/07, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2379
Evolutionary Trade-Offs Between Reproduction And Dispersal In Populations
At Expanding Range Boundaries, C. L. Hughes, J. K. Hill & C. Dytham,
Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett., 2003/06/30
Music With Heart Beat, J .Ehrlenspiel, Alphagalileo, 2003/06/30
Computers Operated By Brain Waves, J. Ehrlenspiel, Alphagalileo, 2003/06/30
Habitat Loss And Reserve Network Selection, E. Davis, Alphagalileo, 2003/07/02
Newly Mapped Gene For Ruptured Heart May Lead To Life-saving Treatment,
ScienceDaily & Amer. Heart Asso., 2003/06/26
Scientists Take A Step Nearer To Creating An Artificial Egg Using A Somatic
Cell, ScienceDaily & Euro. Soc. For Human Reprod. & Embryology,
2003/07/02
Computer Vision Study Links How Brain Recognizes Faces, Moods, ScienceDaily
& Ohio State Univ., 2003/07/03
Circadian Influence In Plants More Widespread Than Previously Thought,
ScienceDaily & Dartmouth College, 2003/07/03
A Dynamic Theory Of The Transition To Democracy, P. J. Zak & Y. Feng, J.
Econ. Behavior & Org., Vol. 52, Issue 1, pp:1-25, Sep. 2003,
doi:10.1016/S0167-2681(03)00018-0
Steady State Of Ecosystem Flow Networks: A Comparison Between Balancing
Procedures, S. Allesina & C. Bondavalli, Ecol. Modelling, Vol. 165, Issues
2-3, pp:221-229, 2003/07/15, doi:10.1016/S0304-3800(03)00075-9
20.2 Coming and Ongoing Webcasts
New Santa Fe Institute President About His Vision for SFI's Future Role,
(Video, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/04)
Edge Videos
Einstein And Poincare, Peter Galison, 03/06/
Genome Changes Everything, Matt Ridley, 03/06/
A United Biology, E.O. Wilson, 03/05/28
In The Matrix, Martin Rees, 03/05/19
Who Cares About Fireflies? Steven Strogatz, 03/05/12
World Economic Forum Extraordinary Annual Meeting, Jordan, 03/06/21-23
SPIE's 1st Intl Symp on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 2003/06/01-04
NAS Sackler Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, Video/Audio Report,
03/05/11
Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and
Unknowable, The University of Texas Austin, Texas USA, 2003/04/10-12
New Trends In Industrial Partnership And Innovation Management At European
Research Laboratories, CERN, Geneva, 2003/03/19 (with webcast)
CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998
20.3 Conference Announcements & Call for Papers
Exystence Thematic Institute - Algorithms And Challenges In Hard
Combinatorial Problems - Trieste, Italy, 03/07/01-31, Turin, Italy,
03/10/01-30
UQAM Summer Institute in Cognitive Sciences 2003: Categorization In
Cognitive Sciences, Montreal, 2003/06/30-07/11
9th International Conference on Auditory Display, Boston, MA,
2003/07/07-09, Wkshp on Assistive Technologies for the Blind, 2003/07/07-09
47th Meeting of the Intl Soc for the System Sciences: Conscious Evolution
Of Humanity: Using Systems Thinking To Construct Agoras Of The Global
Village, Iraklion, Crete, Greec, 2003/07/07-11
2nd International School Topics In Nonlinear Dynamics, Siena (Italy),
2003/07/09-11
2003 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2003), Chicago,
IL,2003/07/12-16
2nd Intl Joint Conf on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems
(AAMAS-2003), Melbourne, Australia, 2003/07/14-18
4th Workshop on Multi-Agent Based Simulation, Melbourne, Australia, 2003/07/14
7th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI
2003), Orlando, Florida, 2003/07/27-30
BIFURCATIONS 2003, Southampton, UK, 03/07/28-30
Intl Conf on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: SPIC '03,
Orlando, Fl, USA, 2003/07/31-08/02
Leadership for Complex Changes - Seattle Conference, Seattle, WA USA,
03/08/04-05
13th Annual International Conference, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life
Sciences,Boston, MA, USA, 2003/08/08-10
Thematic Institute "Networks and Risks", Budapest, Hungary, 03/08/25 -
09/27
Conference on Growing Networks and Graphs in Statistical Physics, Finance,
Biology and Social Systems, Rome, 03/09/01-05
Call for Papers on Dynamical Hierarchies, Special Issue of Artificial Life,
Deadline: 2003/09/05
7th European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL-2003), Dortmund, Germany,
2003/09/14-17
A Dual International Conference on Ethics, Complexity & Organisations &
Creativity, London, UK, 2003/09/17-18
1st German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies (MATES'03), Erfurt,
Germany, 2003/09/22-25
Dynamics Days 2003, XXIII Annual Conference, 4 Decades of Chaos 1963-2003,
Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 03/09/24-27
Improving The NHS Through The Lens Of Complexity, U Exeter, UK, 03/09/24-26
Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT, Cambridge, MA, 2003/09/24-25
Intl School Mathematical Aspects of Quantum Chaos II Quantum Chaos on
Hyperbolic Manifolds, Schloss Reisensburg (Gunzburg, Germany), 03/10/04-11
2003 IEEE/WIC Intl Joint Conf. Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent
Technology, Beijing, China, 2003/10/13-17
American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) 2003 Conference (H.v.Foerster),
Vienna, Austria , 2003/11/10-15
Trends And Perspectives In Extensive And Non-Extensive Statistical
Mechanics, In Honour Of The 60th Birthday Of Constantino Tsallis, Angra Dos
Reis, Brazil, 2003/11/19-21
ICDM '03: The Third IEEE International Conference on Data Mining,
Melbourne, Florida, USA, 2003/11/19-22
4th Intl Conf on Systems Science and Systems Engineering, Hong Kong,
03/11/25-28
3rd International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex System, Guangzhou,
China, 2003/11/29-30
2nd International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social
Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2003/12/15-17
1st International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced
Information Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 04/01/29-30
4th Intl ICSC Symposium Engineering Of Intelligent Systems (EIS 2004),
Island of Madeira, Portugal, 04/02/29-03/02
Fractal 2004, "Complexity and Fractals in Nature", 8th Intl
Multidisciplinary Conf , Vancouver, Canada, 2004/04/04-07
Urban Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences of
Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, Manchester, UK, 04/04/29-30
Fifth International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA,
USA, 2004/05/16-21
13th International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious Diseases, Toulon,
France, 04/06/03-05
20.4 ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test
We are in the process of upgrading the Complexity Digest archives to a
format with improved search capabilities. Also, we will finally be able to
adequately publish the valuable feedback and comments from our knowledgable
readers. You are cordially invited to become a beta tester of our new
ComDig2 archive.
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