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复杂性文摘 NO：2003.13

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Complexity Digest 2003.13 March-30-2003

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. Abrupt Climate Change, Science
          1.1. How To Slake A Planet's Thirst, Nature
          1.2. The World's Forgotten Crisis, Nature
          1.3. Meteorology: Getting The Wind Up, Nature
     2. The Politics Of Publication, Nature
     3. Fractal Company Structures Mastering New Challenges,
         Alphagalileo
          3.1. The Pentagon's Venture Capitalists, business2.0
     4. The Evolution Of Altruistic Punishment, PNAS
          4.1. Do Cheaters Ever Prosper? Just Ask Them, NYTimes
     5. The Economic Impact Of War With Iraq -Asymmetric Risks,
         Computers & Security
     6. Binding Events in a Global Brain: Example Data From Complexity
         Digest, arXiv
          6.1. Small-Worlds: A Review Of Recent Books, Networks
          6.2. Networks Untangled, Nature
     7. Gambling on Dopamine, Science
     8. Fujitsu Labs Applies Neural Networks To Robot Learning,
         Silicon Strategies
     9. New Method For Ecological Monitoring Based On Self-Organising
         Mathematical Models, Ecol. Modelling
    10. Algorithmic Clustering of Music, arXiv
    11. Good Foragers Can Also Be Good At Detecting Predators, Proc.
         Biol. Sc. & Alphagalileo
          11.1. Human Specific Loss Of Olfactory Receptor Genes, PNAS
    12. Engineers Create World's First Transparent Transistor,
         SpaceDaily
          12.1. Trapped Ions Make Logic Gates, PhysicsWeb
    13. Smart Dust, ComputerWorld
          13.1. The Next Big Thing (Is Practically Invisible), The
                  Christian Science Monitor
          13.2. Nanotech Improves Disease Detection, UPI News
    14. Scientists Find Chemical That Attracts Sperm to Egg, CBC News
    15. Genetic Mechanism Of Disease Is Discovered, Science Daily
    16. Link Between Immune Response And Parasite Synchronization In
         Malaria, PNAS
    17. Wave-Induced Sediment Transport and Sandbar Migration, Science
          17.1. Sandbars in Motion, Science
    18. On Multitasking In Parallel Chemical Processors: Experimental
          Findings, Int. J. Bifur. & Chaos
    19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
          19.1. Emergency Response To An Anthrax Attack, PNAS
          19.2. Email Traffic Patterns Can Reveal Ringleaders, New
                  Scientist
    20. Links & Snippets
          20.1. Other Publications
          20.2. Webcast Announcements
          20.3. Conference Announcements
               20.3.1. Public Conference Calls
          20.4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test

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1. Abrupt Climate Change, Science

Excerpts: Large, abrupt, and widespread climate changes with major impacts
have occurred repeatedly in the past, when the Earth system was forced
across thresholds. Although abrupt climate changes can occur for many
reasons, it is conceivable that human forcing of climate change is
increasing the probability of large, abrupt events. (...) Unpredictability
exhibited near climate thresholds in simple models shows that some
uncertainty will always be associated with projections. In light of these
uncertainties, policy-makers should consider expanding research into abrupt
climate change, improving monitoring systems, and taking actions designed
to enhance the adaptability and resilience of ecosystems and economies.
Abrupt Climate Change, R. B. Alley, J. Marotzke, W. D. Nordhaus, J. T.
Overpeck, D. M., Peteet, R. A. Pielke, Jr., R. T. Pierrehumbert, P. B.
Rhines, T. F., Stocker, L. D. Talley, and J. M. Wallace, Science 2003 March
28; 299(5615): p. 2005-2010

Excerpts: In the rich North, flush toilets are the largest single drain on
domestic water supplies. (¡K)
Meanwhile, irrigation for agriculture accounts for more than two-thirds of
humanity's use of water. In many cases, the techniques used are much the
same as when the farmers of Mesopotamia first diverted water from the
Euphrates some 6,000 years ago (¡K), this can result in almost 60% of the
diverted water being lost. (¡K). By using 'micro-irrigation', in which
water is piped and fed onto crops through sealed systems, irrigation can be
made 90% efficient.

How To Slake A Planet's Thirst, Nature 422, 243 (2003); doi:10.1038/422243a

Excerpts: If action isn't taken, millions of people will be condemned to a
premature death. According to the World Water Development Report, (¡K),
population growth, pollution and climate change are conspiring to
exacerbate the situation. Over the next two decades, the average supply of
water per person will drop by a third. Heightened hunger and disease will
follow. Humanity's demands for water also threaten natural ecosystems, and
may bring nations into conflicts that - although they may not lead to war -
will test diplomats' skills to the limit.
The World's Forgotten Crisis, Nature 422, 251 (2003); doi:10.1038/422251a

Excerpts: (¡K) findings is that maximum wind speeds occur at an altitude
of about 500 m. (¡K) Previously, in the absence of observations for wind
speeds above 25 m s-1, levels of increasing drag with increasing wind speed
were extrapolated to high wind speeds. But now it seems that above
hurricane force - about 33 m s-1 - a layer of foam and bubbles from
breaking waves develops that reduces drag and effectively lets the
hurricane glide over the sea. In consequence, air-sea exchange in
hurricanes will need to be reassessed.
Meteorology: Getting The Wind Up, Heike Langenberg, Nature 422, 273 (2003);
doi:10.1038/422273a

2. The Politics Of Publication, Nature

Excerpts: The decision about publication of a paper is the result of
interaction between authors, editors and reviewers. Scientists are
increasingly desperate to publish in a few top journals and are wasting
time and energy manipulating their manuscripts and courting editors. As a
result, the objective presentation of work, the accessibility of articles
and the quality of research itself are being compromised. (¡K)
Managers are stealing power from scientists and building an accountability
culture that "aims at ever more perfect administrative control of
institutional and professional life".

The Politics Of Publication, Peter A. Lawrence, Nature 422, 259 - 261
(2003); doi:10.1038/422259a

3.Fractal Company Structures Mastering New Challenges, Alphagalileo

Excerpts: Companies are markedly more efficient when they couple the
fundamental principles of the fractal factory ¡V adaptability,
process-orientation and decentralisation ¡V with innovative concepts such
as customer-oriented service ranges, networks or e-business. The analysis
shows more than 20 percent higher productivity for such companies. This
productivity edge cannot be explained by structural differences and holds
for companies of varying sizes as well as for companies with products of
varying degrees of complexity. In general it can be said that the more
complex the products manufactured, the more extensive the exploitation of
the possibilities of fractal structures, network formation and value-added
creation is.
Fractal Company Structures Mastering New Challenges, B. Muller,
Alphagalileo, 2003/03/26
Contributed by Atin Das

Excerpts: Here are a few of the projects in DARPA's current portfolio.

Organic Air Vehicle, Miniature surveillance aircraft(¡K) portable planes
that can be used by individual troops to detect ambushes or sniff for
chemical weapons.
Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle, Remote-controlled minitanks (...)
Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation: Strength-enhancing body
armor (¡K) enable soldiers to lug bigger weapons, carry more ammunition,
and travel greater distances.
Babylon, Automatic speech translators: The Phraselator is a PDA that can
translate English voice commands into Arabic, Pashto, and Persian.
The Pentagon's Venture Capitalists, How the defense department is spending
money to turn far-fetched ideas into reality, Brian Caulfield, business2.0,
03/04

4. The Evolution Of Altruistic Punishment, PNAS

Excerpt: Both laboratory and field data suggest that people punish
noncooperators even in one-shot interactions. Although such "altruistic
punishment" may explain the high levels of cooperation in human societies,
it creates an evolutionary puzzle: existing models suggest that altruistic
cooperation among nonrelatives is evolutionarily stable only in small
groups. (...) However, here we show that an important asymmetry between
altruistic cooperation and altruistic punishment allows altruistic
punishment to evolve in populations engaged in one-time, anonymous
interactions. This process allows both altruistic punishment and altruistic
cooperation to be maintained even when groups are large and other parameter
values approximate conditions that characterize cultural evolution in the
small-scale societies in which humans lived for most of our prehistory.
The Evolution Of Altruistic Punishment, Robert Boyd, Herbert Gintis, Samuel
Bowles, and Peter J. Richerson, PNAS 2003;100 3531-3535

Excerpts: One lesson the game industry learned the hard way is that
dedicated cheats will rewrite software to give themselves an advantage. (¡K)
Designers of the new Star Wars game initially planned to let players
communicate in strange languages that would be translated by other players'
computers, he said. But the developers soon realized that cheats would find
a way to break into the hidden dictionary, gaining the ability to speak the
various languages and negotiate with aliens from other planets - a skill
that would normally develop only over time.

Do Cheaters Ever Prosper? Just Ask Them, Peter Wayner, NYTimes, 03/03/27

5. The Economic Impact Of War With Iraq -Asymmetric Risks, Computers & Security

Abstract: Concern about war between some Western countries and Iraq has
mounted in recent weeks. War with Iraq may have important economic
consequences as well as political and security-related consequences.
First-order consequences might include increased oil prices and also higher
defence expenditure at a time when it appears that tax revenues will be
rising much more slowly than government spending. There will also be second
order consequences. These will depend on the outcome of war and on whether
war achieves its objective of bringing peace and stability to the region
or, in fact, makes the region less stable.
The Economic Impact Of War With Iraq -Asymmetric Risks, D. K. Matai,
Computers & Security, Vol. 22, Issue 2, pp:119-123, 2003/03/19,
doi:10.1016/S0167-4048(03)00207-4
Contributed by Atin Das

6. Binding Events in a Global Brain: Example Data From Complexity Digest, arXiv

Abstract: There is likeness of the Internet to human brains which has led
to the metaphor of the world-wide computer network as a `Global Brain'. We
consider conferences as 'binding events' in the Global Brain that can lead
to metacognitive structures on a global scale. One of the critical factors
for that phenomenon to happen (similar to the biological brain) are the
time-scales characteristic for the information exchange. In an electronic
newsletter- the Complexity Digest (ComDig) we include webcasting of audio
(mp3) and video (asf) files from international conferences in the weekly
ComDig issues. Here we present the time variation of the weekly rate of
accesses to the conference files. From those empirical data it appears that
the characteristic time-scales related to access of web-casting files is of
the order of a few weeks. This is at least an order of magnitude shorter
than the characteristic time-scales of peer reviewed publications and
conference proceedings. We predict that this observation will have profound
implications on the nature of future conference proceedings, presumably in
electronic form.
Conferences with Internet Web-Casting as Binding Events in a Global Brain:
Example Data From Complexity Digest, A. Das, G. Mayer-Kress, C. Gershenson,
P. Das, 2003-03-22, DOI: cs.NI/0303023, arXiv
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson

Abstract: Small-worlds research and related fields study a set of network
structures with well-defined properties. In particular, systems that appear
to be well modeled by such networks include World Wide Web documents,
Internet routers, the cellular metabolic network, ecological food webs,
social networks, and many others. The two main structures being
investigated are small-world networks and scale-free networks. Three recent
books, including two just published this summer, describe the research
being undertaken in this burgeoning field. We survey and review these books
through a discussion of the field of small-worlds research with numerous
examples and considerations of the future of the field.

Small-Worlds: A Review Of Recent Books, I. Frommer, G. Pundoor, Networks,
Vol. 41, Issue 3, pp:174-180, 2003/03/24, DOI: 10.1002/net.10059
Contributed by Atin Das

Excerpts: Six Degrees and Linked differ in their focus, however. Barabasi
tells a simple and convincing story: that networks in many systems arise
through a rich-get-richer phenomenon, yielding many poorly connected nodes
and a few hubs, or extremely well-connected nodes. These hubs affect
properties of the network, such as susceptibility to computer-virus
epidemics. (¡K), some individuals may be better connected than others, but
who we know also depends on who our friends know, and where we live and
work, and this leads to a network property called 'clustering'.

Networks Untangled, Lada Adamic, Nature 422, 265 (2003);
doi:10.1038/422265a reviews Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age,
Duncan J. Watts, W. W. Norton/Heinemann: 2003.

7. Gambling on Dopamine, Science

Excerpt: The gambler's ability to detect the slot where the ball has
settled depends on point-to-point connections between nerve cells at
multiple levels of the visual system. The accompanying changes in emotion,
attention, learning, and action depend on neurons with a very different
pattern of connectivity. Such neurons include midbrain dopamine neurons,
which have cell bodies in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area
of the midbrain, and highly divergent projections that connect with the
frontal cortex, dorsal and ventral striatum, and other forebrain regions.
Gambling on Dopamine, Shizgal, Peter, Arvanitogiannis, Andreas, Science
2003 299: 1856-1858

8. Fujitsu Labs Applies Neural Networks To Robot Learning, Silicon Strategies

Excerpt: Fujitsu Lab's technology is based on an architecture of Central
Pattern Generator (CPG) networks, mimicking a function found in earthworms
and lampreys, which mathematically simulates a neural oscillator, which
mimics a function found in vertebrates providing a neurological 'pulse'.
This advanced neural network features have been combined with a numerical
perturbation (NP) method that quantifies the configuration and
connection-weight status of the network.

This combination, known as CPG/NP learning, has been optimized and applied
to motion learning in the new technology.

Fujitsu Labs Applies Neural Networks To Robot Learning, Peter Clarke,
Silicon Strategies, 03/03/27

9. New Method For Ecological Monitoring Based On Self-Organising
Mathematical Models, Ecol. Modelling

Abstract: In many situations it is necessary to generate a multidimensional
mathematical modelling of the parameters or observations defined on an
irregular grid of observation data. We have developed original algorithms
that include the methods of self-organisation for this purpose. Unlike
regression analysis, the method of self-organisation is based on the
purposeful search for optimum model complexity. The optimum model is found
by the well-directed exhaustive search within a set of the
model-pretenders. The methods that we have developed, were used for
analysing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. The three- and
four-dimensional local polynomial models have been developed.
New Method For Ecological Monitoring Based On The Method Of Self-Organising
Mathematical Models, A. Timoshevskii, V. Yeremin, S. Kalkuta, Ecol.
Modelling, Vol. 162, Issues 1-2, pp:1-13, 2003/04/01,
doi:10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00403-9
Contributed by Pritha Das

10. Algorithmic Clustering of Music, arXiv

Abstract: We present a fully automatic method for music classification,
based only on compression of strings that represent the music pieces. The
method uses no background knowledge about music whatsoever: it is
completely general and can, without change, be used in different areas like
linguistic classification and genomics. It is based on an ideal theory of
the information content in individual objects (Kolmogorov complexity),
information distance, and a universal similarity metric. Experiments show
that the method distinguishes reasonably well between various musical
genres and can even cluster pieces by composer.
Algorithmic Clustering of Music, Rudi Cilibrasi, Paul Vitanyi, Ronald de
Wolf, 2003-03-24, DOI: cs.SD/0303025, arXiv
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson

11. Good Foragers Can Also Be Good At Detecting Predators, Proc. Biol. Sc.
& Alphagalileo

Abstract: Animals must look down to feed efficiently but must look up to
detect predators efficiently: this creates a conflict between feeding and
predator detection. We tested whether wild caught captive chaffinches that
consistently feed at a higher rate do so at the expense of their speed in
responding to a model sparrowhawk. Against predictions, chaffinches with
higher peck rates responded more quickly. Our results are important because
they imply that feeding rate can determine vigilance scanning patterns and
that the best foragers can also be the best at detecting predators.
Good Foragers Can Also Be Good At Detecting Predators, W. Cresswell, J. L.
Quinn, M. Whittingham, S. Butler, Proc. Biol. Sc. & Alphagalileo, 2003/03/24
Contributed by Atin Das

Excerpts: Olfactory receptor (OR) genes constitute the basis for the sense
of smell and are encoded by the largest mammalian gene superfamily
of >1,000 genes. In humans, >60% of these are pseudogenes. In contrast, the
mouse OR repertoire, although of roughly equal size, contains only 20%
pseudogenes. We asked whether the high fraction of nonfunctional OR genes
is specific to humans or is a common feature of all primates. (...) We
found that humans have accumulated mutations that disrupt OR coding regions
roughly 4-fold faster than any other species sampled. As a consequence, the
fraction of OR pseudogenes in humans is almost twice as high as in the
non-human primates, suggesting a human-specific process of OR gene
disruption, likely due to a reduced chemosensory dependence relative to apes.

Human Specific Loss Of Olfactory Receptor Genes, Yoav Gilad, Orna Man,
Svante Paabo, and Doron Lancet, PNAS 2003;100 3324-3327

12. Engineers Create World's First Transparent Transistor, SpaceDaily

Excerpts: Transparent transistors might improve the quality of liquid
crystal displays, which are a $10 billion to $15 billion industry, making
the displays more clear and bright.
Electronic devices might be built into window glass or the windshield of a
vehicle, allowing a range of new functions or the transmission of visual
information.

Many electronic devices such as flat panel displays have glass that now
serves no electronic purpose, but could accommodate new circuits or functions.

(¡K) applications in consumer electronics, transportation, business and
even the military, (¡K).

Engineers Create World's First Transparent Transistor, SpaceDaily, 03/03/26

Excerpt: Quantum computing has moved another step forward as two
independent research groups report the creation of logic gates using pairs
of trapped ions. The scientists - based in the US and Austria - have
demonstrated new techniques that involve the quantum control of "entangled"
ions. The researchers believe that these logic gates could be scaled up to
include many qubits in a large, workable quantum computer

Trapped Ions Make Logic Gates, Belle Dume, PhysicsWeb, 03/03/26

13. Smart Dust, ComputerWorld

Excerpt: "Smart dust" devices are tiny wireless microelectromechanical
sensors (MEMS) that can detect everything from light to vibrations. Thanks
to recent breakthroughs in silicon and fabrication techniques, these
"motes" could eventually be the size of a grain of sand, though each would
contain sensors, computing circuits, bidirectional wireless communications
technology and a power supply. Motes would gather scads of data, run
computations and communicate that information using two-way band radio
between motes at distances approaching 1,000 feet.
Smart Dust, Thomas Hoffman, ComputerWorld, 03/03/24

Excerpts: Physical, engineering, and biological sciences all are affected
by nanotechnology. And the promised payoffs are staggering: The National
Science Foundation (NSF) said in a recent report that nanotechnology has
"the potential to enhance human performance, to bring sustainable
development for materials, water, energy, and food, to protect against
unknown bacteria and viruses, and even to diminish the reasons [for]
breaking peace" by reducing the need to fight over resources.
(¡K) consumers looking for payoffs should expect near-term gains in
semiconductors, data storage, life sciences, and optics to name a few.

The Next Big Thing (Is Practically Invisible), Nanoparticles - objects on a
scale of one-billionth of a meter - now turn up in everyday products from
tennis balls to sunscreen., Kelly Hearn, The Christian Science Monitor,
03/03/24

Excerpt: For example, researchers are developing diagnostic tests for
cancer and cardiovascular diseases. When a person is sick, markers --
genetic material or proteins -- for the disease appear in body fluids. If
blood or urine samples from the sick person are mixed with a solution of
synthetic nanostructures, they can be designed to emit light in the
presence of specific disease markers, Nie explained.
This kind of test would improve the accuracy of current tests -- which Nie
said average about 50 percent -- dramatically.

Nanotech Improves Disease Detection, UPI News, 03/03/27

14. Scientists Find Chemical That Attracts Sperm to Egg, CBC News

Excerpts: Human sperm cells follow chemical attractants in a beeline path
to the female egg, researchers have found. They say identifying the process
could lead to advances in contraception and fertility treatments. In
laboratory tests, researchers found human sperm have a receptor, or
chemical sensor, that causes the cells to swim vigorously towards a natural
attractant.
Scientists Find Chemical That Attracts Sperm to Egg, 2003-03-27, CBC News
Contributed by Nadia Gershenson

15. Genetic Mechanism Of Disease Is Discovered, Science Daily

Excerpts: In the process of figuring out why an anti-cancer drug is
effective in treating patients with a rare blood disorder known as
hypereosinophilic syndrome, or HES, researchers at Brigham and Women's
Hospital (BWH) and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that the
condition may in fact be a form of cancer.(...) "Our research addresses the
question of why patients with HES respond so well to imatinib," said Gary
Gilliland, MD, PhD, of BWH, who is senior author of the paper with Stone.
"We have shown that a small deletion of DNA in the blood cells of HES
patients fuses two genes together, creating a novel cancer-causing gene
that is inhibited by imatinib. This fusion explains the clinical response
these patients have to imatinib, and demonstrates that HES is a form of
cancer."
Rare Blood Disease Shown To Be A Form Of Treatable Cancer; Genetic
Mechanism Of Disease Is Discovered, 2003-03-27, Science Daily
Contributed by Nadia Gershenson

16. Link Between Immune Response And Parasite Synchronization In Malaria, PNAS

Excerpts: Anti-malaria vaccines and drugs could be greatly improved if we
knew which phases of Plasmodium falciparum development in red blood cells
are major inducers and which are major targets of natural immune responses.
(...) Here we explore the hypothesis that innate immune responses mediate
synchronization between the replication cycles of parasites in different
red blood cells which is reflected in periodic fevers. (...) To produce
synchronization, the inducing and the target phase intervals must be
developmentally distant from each other. We developed a computer program
which prompts for information based on measurements of the numbers of
erythrocytes in two replication cycle intervals chosen by the researcher,
tests our model, and predicts the two phase intervals most critical to the
synchronizing immune response.
Link Between Immune Response And Parasite Synchronization In Malaria, Igor
M. Rouzine and F. Ellis McKenzie, PNAS 2003;100 3473-3478

17. Wave-Induced Sediment Transport and Sandbar Migration, Science

Excerpts: Onshore sediment transport and sandbar migration are important to
the morphological evolution of beaches but are not well understood. Here, a
model that accounts for fluid accelerations in waves predicts the onshore
sandbar migration observed on an ocean beach. In both the observations and
the model, the location of the maximum acceleration-induced transport moves
shoreward with the sandbar, resulting in feedback between waves and
morphology that drives the bar shoreward until conditions change. A model
(¡K) simulated both onshore and offshore bar migration observed over a
45-day period.
Wave-Induced Sediment Transport and Sandbar Migration, Fernanda Hoefel and
Steve Elgar, Science 2003 299: 1885-1887.

Excerpts: Below the apparently chaotic sea surface of surf zones, complex
sandbar patterns with intricate structure are frequently observed (¡K).
Increasing ability to monitor these morphodynamic patterns has so far met
with modest success in explaining their complexity. Near-shore
morphodynamic models are therefore restricted to short time scales (a few
weeks or less) and energetic storm conditions. (¡K) Hoefel and Elgar (1)
introduce a new transport mechanism based on flow acceleration within the
waves that may help to extend the prediction time scales of these models.
Sandbars in Motion, Marcel J. F. Stive, Ad J. H. M. Reniers, Science 2003
299: 1855-1856.

18. On Multitasking In Parallel Chemical Processors: Experimental Findings,
Int. J. Bifur. & Chaos

Abstract: A parallel chemical processor is a thin-layer of a reagent
mixture which reacts to changes in its concentration - data configuration -
in a predictable way to form a stationary pattern corresponding to the
concentration of the reagent - result configuration. A computation in the
chemical processor is implemented via the spreading and interaction of
diffusive or phase waves. Namely, we study the possibility of designing a
multitasking chemical processor that independently and simultaneously
computes (¡K). We define a two-tasking chemical processor as two distinct
reactant-substrate couples within a reaction-diffusion processor that solve
separate tasks but share the same physical space.
On Multitasking In Parallel Chemical Processors: Experimental Findings, B.
P. J. De Lacy Costello & A. I. Adamatzky, Int. J. Bifur. & Chaos, Vol. 13,
No. 2, pp:521-533, Feb. 2003, doi:10.1142/S0218127403006716
Contributed by Atin Das

19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks

Excerpts: We developed a mathematical model to compare various emergency
responses in the event of an airborne anthrax attack. (...) Our results
underscore the need for the extremely aggressive and timely use of oral
antibiotics by all asymptomatics in the exposure region, distributed either
preattack or by nonprofessionals postattack, and the creation of surge
capacity for supportive hospital care via expanded training of nonemergency
care workers at the local level and the use of federal and military
resources and nationwide medical volunteers.
Emergency Response To An Anthrax Attack, Lawrence M. Wein, David L. Craft,
Edward H. Kaplan, PNAS published 21 March 2003, 10.1073/pnas.0636861100

Excerpts: By looking for patterns in email traffic, a new technique can
quickly identify online communities and the key people in them. The
approach could mean terrorists or criminal gangs give themselves away, even
if they are communicating in code or only discussing the weather. (¡K)

"If the CIA or another intelligence agency has a lot of intercepted email
from people suspected of being part of a criminal network, they could use
the technique to figure out who the leaders of the network might be," (¡K)

Email Traffic Patterns Can Reveal Ringleaders, Hazel Muir, New Scientist,
03/03/27

20. Links & Snippets

20.1 Other Publications

Religious Thought And Behaviour As By-Products Of Brain Function, Pascal
Boyer, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2003, 7:3119-124
The Nature Of Cognitive Development, Scott P. Johnson, Trends in Cognitive
Sciences, 2003, 7:3102-104
Task Switching, Stephen Monsell, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2003,
7:3134-140, Subjects' responses are substantially slower and, usually, more
error-prone immediately after a task switch. This 'switch cost' is reduced,
but not eliminated, by an opportunity for preparation.
New Dimensions In Color Perception, Donald I.A. MacLeod, Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 2003, 7:397-99
The Impact Of The Certainty Context On The Process Of Choice, John
Dickhaut, Kevin McCabe, Jennifer C. Nagode, Aldo Rustichini, Kip Smith, and
Jose V. Pardo, PNAS 2003 100: 3536-3541
Component Processes Underlying Choice, John T. Cacioppo, Howard S. Nusbaum,
PNAS 2003;100 3016-3017
Extending The Definition Of Entropy To Nonequilibrium, Steady States, David
P. Ruelle, PNAS 2003;100 3054-3058
Cost Minimization By Helpers In Cooperative Vertebrates, A. F. Russell, L.
L. Sharpe, P. N. M. Brotherton, , T. H., Clutton-Brock, PNAS 2003;100
3333-3338
Persistence And Brain Circuitry, Debra A. Gusnard, John M. Ollinger, Gordon
L. Shulman, C. Robert, Cloninger, Joseph L. Price, David C. Van Essen,
Marcus E. Raichle, PNAS 2003;100 3479-3484, These findings represent a
fresh approach to linking normal individual differences in personality and
behavior to specific neuronal structures and subsystems.
Inbreeding and the Genetic Complexity of Human Hypertension, Igor Rudan,
Nina Smolej-Narancic, Harry Campbell, Andrew Carothers, Alan Wright, Branka
Janicijevic, and Pavao Rudan, Genetics 2003 March 1; 163(3): p. 1011-1021
Functional Complexity Of Intermediate Filament Cytoskeletons: From,
Structure To Assembly To Gene Ablation., Herrmann H, Hesse M, Reichenzeller
M, Aebi U, and Magin TM, Int Rev Cytol 2003 223(): p. 83-175
Molecular Computing Revisited: A Moore's Law?, Livstone MS, van Noort D,
and Landweber LF, Trends Biotechnol 2003 Mar 21(3): p. 98-101
Flux Qubit Completes the Hat Trick, John Clarke, Science 2003 299: 1850-1851
Wingless Insects and Plucked Chickens, Richard H. Thomas, Science 2003 299:
1854-1855
Hexapod Origins: Monophyletic or Paraphyletic?, Francesco Nardi, Giacomo
Spinsanti, Jeffrey L. Boore, Antonio Carapelli, Romano Dallai, and
Francesco Frati, Science 2003 299: 1887-1889.
Role of EphA4 and EphrinB3 in Local Neuronal Circuits That Control Walking,
Kullander, Klas, Butt, Simon J. B., Lebret, James M., Lundfald, Line,
Restrepo, Carlos E., Rydstrom, Anna, Klein, Rudiger, Kiehn, Ole, Science
2003 299: 1889-1892
Dynamin: The Endosymbiosis Ring Of Power?, Geoffrey I. McFadden, Stuart A.
Ralph, PNAS published 25 March 2003, 10.1073/pnas.0831049100, Breast Cancer
Stem Cells Revealed, John E. Dick,
Meeting Halfway On The Bridge Between Protein Folding Theory And
Experiment, Vijay S. Pande, PNAS published 25 March 2003,
10.1073/pnas.0830965100
Analysis Of The Eye Developmental Pathway In Drosophila Using DNA
Microarrays, Lydia Michaut, Susanne Flister, Martin Neeb, Kevin P. White,
Ulrich Certa, Walter J. Gehring, PNAS published 24 March 2003,
10.1073/pnas.0630561100
Context Sensitivity Of Activity-Dependent Increases In Cerebral Blood Flow,
Kirsten Caesar, Lorenz Gold, Martin Lauritzen, PNAS published 24 March
2003, 10.1073/pnas.0635075100
Effects of Age on Measures of Complex Working Memory Span in the Beagle
Dog(Canis familiaris) Using Two Versions of a Spatial List Learning
Paradigm, P. Dwight Tapp, Christina T. Siwak, Jimena Estrada, Daniel
Holowachuk, Norton W. Milgram, Learn. Mem. 2003 March 1; 10(2): p. 148-160
Sign of a Paleo Tongue?, Science 2003 March 28; 299(5615): p. 1977a
Surveillance: Radiographic Imaging With Cosmic-Ray Muons, Konstantin N.
Borozdin, Gary E. Hogan, Christopher Morris, William C. Priedhorsky,
Alexander Saunders, Larry J. Schultz, Margaret E. Teasdale, Nature 422, 277
(2003); doi:10.1038/422277a
SFI Working Papers
Inferring Pattern and Disorder in Close-Packed Structures from X-ray
Diffraction Studies, Part II: Structure and Intrinsic Computation in Zinc
Sulphide, Dowman P. Varn, G. S. Canright, James P. Crutchfield, DOI: SFI-WP
03-03-022
Learning Nash Equilibrium, Dean P. Foster, H. Peyton Young, DOI: SFI-WP
03-02-007
Robustness in Biological Systems - A Provisional Taxonomy, David C.
Krakauer, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-008
Principles and Parameters of Molecular Robustness, David C. Krakauer,
Joshua B. Plotkin, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-009
Economic Production as Chemistry, John Padgett, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-010
Surveying Phylogenetic Footprints in Large Gene Clusters: Applications to
Hox Cluster Duplications, Sonja Prohaska, Claudia Fried, Christoph Flamm,
Gunter Wagner, Peter F. Stadler, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-011
Epigenetic vs. Genetic, a Story of the Evolution of the Germline, Michael
Lachmann, Guy Sella, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-012
Multinomial Choice with Social Interactions, William A. Brock, Steven N.
Durlauf, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-013
Complexity and Empirical Economics, Steven N. Durlauf, DOI: SFI-WP 03-02-014
The Topology of the Possible, Walter Fontana, DOI: SFI-WP 03-03-017
Perspective: Evolution and Detection of Genetic Robustness, J. Arjan G.M.
de Visser, et al., DOI: SFI-WP 03-03-016
Towards a Unity of the Human Behavioral Sciences, Herbert Gintis, DOI:
SFI-WP 03-02-015
Communication and Coordination, John H. Miller, Scott Moser, DOI: SFI-WP
03-03-019
Groups, Social Influences and Inequality: A Memberships Theory Perspective
on Poverty Traps, Steven N. Durlauf, DOI: SFI-WP 03-03-020
Contributed by Carlos Gershenson
Science News Online (also available in Audible format)
Original Kin: Six-Legged Bugs May Have Evolved Twice, Insects may have
evolved independently from other six-legged land bugs and may be more
closely related to crustaceans than to their fellow so-called hexapods.
No Rest For The Waking: Brain Cells For Alertness Fire Without Cues, The
brain cells that keep people awake fire spontaneously and continuously on
their own, suggesting that sleep depends on signals from other brain
regions that quiet these neurons.
A Tale Of The Tapeworm: Parasite Ploy Suggests Drug-Delivery Tactic, A
chemical used by tapeworms to slow intestinal pulsations may help people
absorb drugs more efficiently.
Techno Crow: Do Birds Build Up Better Tool Designs?, Researchers surveying
tool use by New Caledonian crows propose that the birds may be the first
animals besides people shown to ratchet up the sophistication of their
technology by sharing design improvements.
More Than A Kick, Nicotine ramps up activity throughout the body, making
the drug a suspect in many tobacco-related ailments.
Discovery Of Bitter-Taste Gene Is Sweet, Scientists have found that
variations in a gene explain why people differ in their ability to taste
bitterness.
Ants Lurk For Bees, But Bees See Ambush, A tropical ant has perfected the
un-antlike behavior of hunting by ambush, but its prey, a sweat bee, has
developed some tricks of its own.
Was T. Rex Just A Big Freeloader?, A new study suggests that an ecosystem
like today's African savanna could provide sufficient carrion to nourish a
scavenger the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Age-Related Differences In Brain Activation During Emotional Face
Processing, F. M. Gunning-Dixon, R. C. Gur, A. C. Perkins, L. Schroeder, T.
Turner, B. I. Turetsky, R. M. Chan, J. W. Loughead, D. C. Alsop, J.
Maldjian & R. E. Gur, Neurobiol. of Aging, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp:285-295,
Mar.-Apr. 2003, doi:10.1016/S0197-4580(02)00099-4
Facial Nerve Axotomy In Aged And Young Adult Rats: Analysis Of The Glial
Response, S. D. Hurley & P. D. Coleman, Neurobiol. of Aging, Vol. 24, Issue
2, pp:511-518, Mar.-Apr. 2003, doi:10.1016/S0197-4580(02)00097-0
Variability In Memory Performance In Aged Healthy Individuals: An fMRI
Study, G. Gron, D. Bittner, B. Schmitz, A. P. Wunderlich, R. Tomczakc & M.
W. Riepe, Neurobiol. of Aging, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp:453-462, Mar.-Apr.
2003, doi:10.1016/S0197-4580(02)00128-8
From Individual Control To Majority Rule: Extending Transactional Models
Of Reproductive Skew In Animal Societies, H. K. Reeve & R. L. Jeanne, Proc.
Biol. Sc. & Alphagalileo, 2003/03/24
The Limits To Cost-Free Signalling Of Need Between Relatives, B. O. Brilot
& R. A. Johnstone, Proc. Biol. Sc. & Alphagalileo, 2003/03/24
How Immigration Is Improving The UK Labour Market, A. Hinds, Alphagalileo,
2003/03/24
Age-related Changes In The Brain's White Matter Affect Cognitive Function
In Old Age, ScienceDaily, 2003/03/24
Inspired By Nature, Cornell Chemist Finds Way To Make biodegradable Plastic
That Imitates Bacteria, ScienceDaily, 2003/03/24
OHSU Researchers Discover New Brain Region Involved In Alcoholism,
ScienceDaily, 2003/03/26
Surprise! Lightning Has Big Effect On Atmospheric Chemistry, ScienceDaily,
2003/03/20
A Neuro-socio-cognitive Model of Self-awareness with an Emphasis on Inner
Speech, Morin, Alain, 2002, CogPrints
Visuo-vestibular Interaction in the Reconstruction of Travelled
Trajectories., Bertin, R.J.V., Berthoz, A., 2002, CogPrints
Towards Modelling The Internet Topology - The Interactive Growth Model, Shi
Zhou, Raul J. Mondragon, 2003-03-26, arXiv
Expansion Exponents for Nonequilibrium Systems, V. I. Yukalov, 2003-03-19,
arXiv
Towards a Theory of Consciousness: Proposal for the Resolution of the
Homunculus Fallacy with Predictions, Andras Lorincz, Gabor Szirtes,
2003-03-21, arXiv
Non-Linear Biological Responses To Disturbance: Consequences On Population
Dynamics, J. Laakso, V. Kaitala & E. Ranta, Ecol. Modelling, Vol. 162,
Issues 1-2, pp: 247-258, 2003/04/15, doi:10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00385-X
On-Line Emission And Economic Load Dispatch Using Adaptive Hopfield Neural
Network, S. Balakrishnan, P. S. Kannan, C. Aravindan & P. Subathra, Appl.
Soft Comp., Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp:297-305, Feb. 2003,
doi:10.1016/S1568-4946(02)00062-5
Intelligent Optimal Control With Dynamic Neural Networks, Y. Becerikli, A.
F. Konar & T. Samad, Neural Networks, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp:251-259,
2003/02/14, doi:10.1016/S0893-6080(02)00232-0
On Motion Detection Through A Multi-Layer Neural Network Architecture, A.
F. Caballero, J. Mira, M. A. Fernandez & A. E. Delgado, Neural Networks,
Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp:205-222, 2003/02/14, doi:10.1016/S0893-6080(02)00233-2
Isotropic Sequence Order Learning, B. Porr, F. Worgotter, Neural
Computation, Vol. 15, No 4, pp:831-864, Apr. 2003, DOI:
10.1162/08997660360581921

20.2 Coming and Ongoing Webcasts

Autonomous Agents, Stuart Kauffman, FRIAM Group sponsored Applied
Complexity Lecture Series at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 03/03/13
New Trends In Industrial Partnership And Innovation Management At European
Research Laboratories, CERN, Geneva, 03/03/19 (with webcast)
CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
"New Frontiers of Neuroscience" Symposium, Taipei, Taiwan, 03/03/07
Television & Children's Media Policy: Where Do We Go From Here?,
Washinghton, DC, 03/02/28, c-span, (clip12657), 1:35
INSC 2003, International Nonlinear Sciences Conference, Vienna, Austria,
03/02/07-09
World Economic Forum Meeting "Building Trust", Davos, Switzerland, 03/01/23-28
2002 Financial Management Conference, 02/10/16-19
Artificial Life Conference (A-Life 8), Sydney, Australia, 02/12/09-13
Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998

20.3 Conference Announcements

Design and Product Complexity Meeting, Open Univ, Milton Keynes, UK, 03/04/07
Explorations of Complexity - A Science of Qualities: A Conversation with
Brian Goodwin, Open Univ, Milton Keynes, UK, 03/04/07
Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected, U. of
Texas at Austin, Texas, 03/04/10-12
7th Annual Swarm Researchers and Users Meeting (SwarmFest2003), Notre Dame,
IN, 03/04/13-14
Agent-Based Simulation 4, Montpellier, France, 03/04/28-30
2003 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, Santa Clara, CA, 03/04/22-25
Managing Complex Organizations in a Complex World, Cambridge, MA, 03/05/01-02
NAS Sackler Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, The Beckman Center,
Irvine, CA, 03/05/09-11
The Opening of Systems Theory, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, DK,
03/05/23-25
SPIE's 1st Intl Symp on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/01-04
21st ICDE World Conf on Open Learning and Distance Education, Hong Kong,
03/06/01-05
Summer School on Nonlinear Phenomena In Computational Chemical Physics,
Barcelona, Spain, 03/06/09-14
17th Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Simulation (PADS 2003), San
Diego, California, 03/06/10-13
One-Week Intensive Course: Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems,
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 03/06/16-20
2003 Summer Computer Simulation Conference (SCSC '03), Montreal, Canada,
03/06/20-24
5th Intl Conf "Symmetry in Nonlinear Mathematical Physics", Kiev, Ukraine,
03/06/23-29, Mirror
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, 03/07/07-11
9th International Conference on Auditory Display, Boston, MA, 03/07/07-09,
Wkshp on Assistive Technologies for the Blind, 03/07/06
2003 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2003), Chicago,
IL,03/07/12-16
2nd Intl Joint Conf on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems
(AAMAS-2003), Melbourne, Australia, 03/07/14-18
7th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI
2003), Orlando, Florida, 03/07/27-30
Intl Conf on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: SPIC '03,
Orlando, Fl, USA, 03/07/31-08/02
13th Annual International Conference, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life
Sciences,Boston, MA, USA, 03/08/08-10
1st German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies (MATES'03), Erfurt,
Germany, 03/09/22-25
7th European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL-2003), Dortmund, Germany,
03/09/14-17
2003 IEEE/WIC Intl Joint Conf. Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent
Technology, Beijing, China, 03/10/13-17
ICDM '03: The Third IEEE International Conference on Data Mining,
Melbourne, Florida, USA, 03/11/19-22
3rd International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex System, Guangzhou,
China, 03/11/29-30
2nd International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social
Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 03/12/15-17
Fifth International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA,
USA, 04/05/16-21

20.3.1 Public Conference Calls

Complexity And Medical Practice, Pat Rush & Bob Lindberg, PlexusCalls,
03/01/10, Audio File Available Now, mp3
John Holland in Conversation, PlexusCalls, - Audio File Available Now, mp3
Are Disease and Aging Information/Complexity Loss Syndromes?, PlexusCalls,
02/11/08, 1 - 2 pm EST (To learn more about Ary Goldberger¡¦s work and
HeartSongs, Music of the Heart.) Audio File Available Now, mp3
Brenda Zimmerman in Conversation, PlexusCalls, Audio File Available Now, mp3
The Complexity of Entrepreneurship: A Launchcyte Story, Tom Petzinger,
PlexusCalls, 02/11/22, Audio File Available Now, mp3
A Practical and Appreciative Approach to Complex and Chronic Challenges,
Keith McCandless, PlexusCalls, Jan 2003, Audio File Available Now, mp3

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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