复杂性文摘 NO：2004.16

Complexity Digest 2004.16 20-April-2004

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

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  On 01-May-2004 Complexity Digest will co-sponsor a panel discussion with
leading scientists on cultural factors affecting impact of science in Taiwan.
(See ComDig04-12.1)
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Content:

01. The Search Engine Wars, NPR
01.01. Old School Search, NPR
01.02. The Breakthrough, NPR
01.03. What's Next?, NPR
02. Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology, InformationWeek
02.01. Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind, Blog of Collective
Intelligence
03. Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour?, Nature
03.01. Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation, Nature
03.02. Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite
Populations, Nature
04. Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth, Euro. J. Poli. Econ.
04.01. Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach, Euro. J. Poli.
Econ.
05. Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave, Nature
05.01. Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art, Science Now
06. Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones, NY Times
07. Googling The Genome, The Guardian
08. For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start, NY Times
08.01. Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys, Nature Science update
09. The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions,
Brain & Cognition
09.01. Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks, arXiv
09.02. A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic
Neurons, Info. Sc.
09.03. Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate
Frontal Cortex, Science
09.04. The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing, Biol. Rev.
10. Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles, Science
10.01. The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations, Science
10.02. Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree, ScienceDaily
10.03. Male-Female Conflict: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects And
Spiders, Biol. Rev.
11. Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation, arXiv
12. Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe, NewScientist
13. Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons, BBC News
14. UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5', SpaceDaily
14.01. Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Ni , Natue Science update
15. Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition, Science
16. Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Internet-First University
Press
17. An Error Catastrophe in Cancer?, Journal of Theoretical Biology
18. New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis', Science Now
18.01. Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart, Science
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.01. 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective, NY Times
19.02. Why Didn't We Stop 9/11?, NY Times
19.03. Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential
Power, NY Times
20. Links & Snippets
20.01. Other Publications
20.02. Webcast Announcements
20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements

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01. The Search Engine Wars , NPR

Excerpts: Companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are battling to be the
main gateway to the Internet. These companies have gained unprecedented
influence over what people see and learn, and have created an industry with
brave new rules for business. In a five-part series, NPR's Rick Karr takes a
look at the business of search engines.

* The Search Engine Wars, Rick Karr, ,  , 04/04/12, NPR, Morning Edition


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01.01. Old School Search , NPR

Excerpts: Search technology, once relegated to library science departments and
remote corners of computer science labs, went mainstream with the Internet,
spawning such once-giant brands as Lycos, AltaVista and Yahoo. These engines
proved that the Web could be indexed, but they failed when it came to giving
users what they wanted.

* Old School Search, Rick Karr  , 04/04/12, NPR, Morning Edition


_________________________________________________________________

01.02. The Breakthrough , NPR

Excerpts: Stanford students Sergey Brin and Larry Page figured out how to use
the structure of the Internet -- the way pages link to one another -- to put
the most relevant items at the top of a search list. Ultimately, this set the
standard, and gave their firm, Google, a massive lead in the industry.

* The Breakthrough, Rick Karr  , 04/04/13, NPR, Morning Edition


_________________________________________________________________

01.03. What's Next? , NPR

Excerpts: Search engines may soon use personal information to return better
search results. Google's plan to offer an e-mail service that delivers ads
based on e-mail keywords has privacy watchdogs nervous.

* What's Next?, Rick Karr  , 04/04/16, NPR, Morning Edition


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02. Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology , InformationWeek

Excerpts: The metaphor comes from bees, and the fact that any bee in the hive
can be called on to do any job. Tsunami Research Inc. (...), which develops and
markets hive-computing technology, was started by folks who previously
developed a proprietary payment-processing system.

Like grid computing, hive computing leverages a collection of commodity
hardware. Unlike grid computing, hive is meant for business- style
applications, such as transaction processing and database access. Tsunami
boldly claims its technology can lower acquisition costs by 90% and software
development and maintenance costs by 50%.

* Hive Computing Is A Cluster Technology, John Soat  , 04/04/12,
InformationWeek


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02.01. Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind , Blog of Collective
Intelligence

Excerpts: I e just discovered in an interview that Seth Kahan made with John
Seely Brown a very intriguing and fertile perspective on the role blogs may
play in the emergence of a conscious social mind. (...)

otice, also, that blogs can suddenly reach a critical mass that then forces
something out into the open, into public consciousness. You might think of it
as an analogy to the subconscious vs. the conscious. The formal or conscious
part is what today  journalism is about, New York Times and so on. But the
informal layer, comprising things like blogs, is like our unconscious mind.
It  not publicly visible. But all kinds of things are happening there.?
hings get linked together and suddenly there can be enough links (creating a
dense mesh of intertextual links) that the underlying dea?breaks through to
public consciousness. ?
* Phase Transition From The Unconscious Social Mind, George Por  , 04/04/11,
Blog of Collective Intelligence


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03. Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour? , Nature

Excerpts: What gives cooperation an evolutionary edge? Two features of a
population ?spatial structure and finite size ?are factors in the success of
any strategy, although more subtle than we thought.

In thinking about the evolution of cooperative behaviour1, there is one main
stumbling block: that cooperative individuals can be exploited by 'defectors',
who benefit from cooperation while avoiding the costs that it entails.
Solutions to this problem typically find ways for cooperative individuals to
interact with one another more often than they would purely by chance.

* Behavioural Evolution: Cooperate With Thy Neighbour?, Peter D. Taylor  , Troy
Day , 04/04/08, DOI: doi:10.1038/428611a, Nature 428, 611 - 612


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03.01. Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation , Nature

Excerpts: Understanding the emergence of cooperation is a fundamental problem
in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary game theory has become a powerful
framework with which to investigate this problem. (...)
In unstructured snowdrift games, intermediate levels of cooperation persist.
Unexpectedly, spatial structure reduces the proportion of cooperators for a
wide range of parameters. In particular, spatial structure eliminates
cooperation if the cost-to-benefit ratio of cooperation is high. Our results
caution against the common belief that spatial structure is necessarily
beneficial for cooperative behaviour.

* Spatial Structure Often Inhibits The Evolution Of Cooperation, Christoph
Hauert , Michael Doebeli


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03.02. Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite
Populations , Nature

Excerpts: In general, defectors are stable against invasion by cooperators.
This understanding is based on traditional concepts of evolutionary stability
and dynamics in infinite populations. Here we study evolutionary game dynamics
in finite populations. We show that a single cooperator using a strategy like
'tit-for-tat' can invade a population of defectors with a probability that
corresponds to a net selective advantage. We specify the conditions required
for natural selection to favour the emergence of cooperation and define
evolutionary stability in finite populations.

* Emergence Of Cooperation And Evolutionary Stability In Finite Populations,
Martin A. Nowak , Akira Sasaki , Christine Taylor , Drew Fudenberg , DOI:
10.1038/nature02414, Nature


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04. Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth , Euro. J. Poli. Econ.

Abstract: We set out an infinite-horizon political economy model with partisan
and office motivation effects in an endogenous growth context to demonstrate
that the existence of political uncertainty regarding re-election tends to
reduce the amount of public investment by incumbent governments and underlies a
switch from government investment to government consumption, thereby reducing
growth. The political equilibrium is inefficient and so does not maximise
social welfare. Using panel data regressions we show, for OECD countries, that
there is empirical support for the hypothesis that political uncertainty tends
to reduce public investment, and that there are partisan effects in public
investment decisions.

* Political Uncertainty, Public Expenditure And Growth, J. Darby  , C.-W. Li  ,
V. A. Muscatelli v.a.muscatelli@socsci.gla.ac.uk , online 2004/02/20 European
Journal of Political Economy, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.01.001
* Contributed by Pritha Das


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04.01. Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach , Euro. J. Poli.
Econ.

Abstract: It has been claimed that people often prefer equity-like
considerations and tend to ignore strategic aspects in fair division problems.
Here, this is explored by analysing whether or not such a behavioural
disposition is evolutionarily stable. The answer, however, is ambiguous: Both,
reacting to and neglecting strategic aspects can be evolutionarily stable
strategies when power discrepancies are minor. Equity, in particular, is
restricted to situations where structural asymmetries are subtle.

* Will Equity Evolve?: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach, W. G h  , K. Pull
pull@iaaeg.de , online 2004/02/20 European Journal of Political Economy, DOI:
10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.10.003
* Contributed by Pritha Das


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05. Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave , Nature

Excerpts:


Traces of red ochre on the beads may have come from paint or clothes.


?C. Henshilwood



Anatomically modern humans are thought to have lived in Africa from at least
160,000 years ago. But there is much debate about when they acquired language
and other aspects of modern culture.

The new finding strengthens the idea that at least some groups in Africa had
developed such a culture by the middle Stone Age. They probably used language
in order to explain the meaning of their bracelets and charms, (...)
Most were found in a layer of sand that has been accurately dated to around
75,000 years old.

* Ancient Jewellery Found In African Cave, Helen Pearson
, 04/04/16, Nature


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05.01. Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art , Science Now

Excerpts: (...) humans were well on their way to complex, symbolic thinking by
75,000 years ago--long before the "creative explosion" of painting and jewelry
began 40,000 years ago in Europe.(...)
?...) trail of representational objects that is increasingly older as we move
back [from Europe] into Africa." (...) record of earlier artistic objects from
Africa as evidence that modern behavioral traits, such as the use of external
symbols, developed gradually over a couple of hundred thousand years, not
suddenly after our ancestors emerged from Africa, (...).

* Oldest Beads Hint at Early Art, Constance Holden , 04/04/15, Science Now


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06. Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones , NY Times

Excerpts: "Firstly, they haven't launched clamshell products, which came to
Asia one and a half years ago. And second, they haven't launched products with
good color screens and cameras."

By contrast, Samsung has been "focusing on high-end products," (...), while
"Nokia has been focusing too much on the low end," and on emerging economies
rather than richer markets like the United States.

In a television interview, Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chief executive, said, "There
were some changes in the products of our competitors, and we were not as swift
in moving."

* Slow to Adapt, Nokia Loses Market Share in Latest Cellphones, Alan Cowell ,
04/04/17, NYTimes


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07. Googling The Genome , The Guardian

Excerpts: In fact, the personal genome is a kind of total health checkup - one
that includes all possible genetic diseases, known and unknown. The result of
every test available - for susceptibilities to various cancers, for example -
would be revealed after a little genomic googling on your home computer. As new
genetic tests are devised, the results could be read off from your digital code
without the need for further medical examinations.

The ready availability of results for every genetic test, present and future,
is a mixed blessing.

* Googling The Genome, Glyn Moody , 04/04/15, The Guardian


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08. For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start , NY Times

Excerpts: The No Child Left Behind law has kicked off one of the nation's
largest experiments in educational capitalism by inviting private companies and
other groups to offer tutoring in failing public schools and financing the
effort with federal money previously spent on the schools themselves. The aim
is to help struggling children perform in their regular classrooms, while
invigorating public education with private competition. (...) 1,000 companies
rushing to recruit armies of tutors and grab chunks of what experts say could
be a $2 billion-plus tutoring market.

* For Children Being Left Behind, Private Tutors Face Rocky Start, Sam Dillon
, 04/04/16, NYTimes


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08.01. Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys , Nature Science update

Excerpts:


Food for thought: clever chimps get the best snacks.


?Alamy.com



Young female chimpanzees are better students than males, at least when it comes
to catching termites, according to a study of wild chimps in Tanzania's Gombe
National Park. While daughters watch their mothers closely, the boys spend more
time monkeying around. (...)
The difference is down to greater attentiveness on the females' part, the
authors say. Females spent more time watching their mothers and their technique
resembled their mother's more closely, even in the depths to which they
inserted the stick.
Editor's Note: This seems to be consistent with the observation that most of
the great discoveries have been made by boys.

* Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys, Michael Hopkin  , 04/04/15, Nature
Science update


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09. The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions ,
Brain & Cognition

Abstract: The present investigation was aimed to the study of the three
attentional networks (Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Function) and their
interactions. The alerting network seemed to inhibit the executive function
network. The orienting network influenced the executive function network in a
positive way. Finally, alertness increased orienting. This last result, taken
together with previous findings, points to an influence in the sense of a
faster orienting under alertness, rather than a larger one. These results offer
new insight into the functioning of the attentional system.

* The Three Attentional Networks: On Their Independence And Interactions, A.
Callejas callejas@ugr.es , J. Lupi ez jlupiane@ugr.es , P. Tudela
tudela@ugr.es , Online 2004/03/11, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2004.02.012, Brain and
Cognition
* Contributed by Atin Das


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09.01. Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks , arXiv

Abstract: We investigate the properties of the spanning trees of various
real-world and model networks. The spanning tree representing the communication
kernel of the original network is determined by maximizing total weight of
edges, whose weights are given by the edge betweenness centralities. We find
that a scale-free tree and shortcuts organize a complex network. The spanning
tree shows robust betweenness centrality distribution that was observed in
scale-free tree models. It turns out that the shortcut distribution
characterizes the properties of original network, such as the clustering
coefficient and the classification of networks by the betweenness centrality
distribution.

* Scale-free Trees: The Skeletons of Complex Networks, Dong-Hee Kim , Jae Dong
Noh , Hawoong Jeong , 2004-03-30, DOI: cond-mat/0403719, arXiv
* Contributed by Carlos Gershenson


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09.02. A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic
Neurons , Info. Sc.

Abstract: This paper describes an original neural simulation platform designed
as a tool for computational neuroscience. The system, based on artificial
electronic neurons implemented in specific integrated circuits, computes in
real-time and emulates in analogue mode the electrical activity of single
neurons or small neural networks. Neurons are modelled using a biologically
realistic description of membrane excitability and synaptic connectivity. The
characteristics of the simulator are discussed and simulation examples are
presented, including the implementation of "hybrid networks", where living
neurons and artificial one are interacting in real-time in a mixed neural
network.

* A Neural Simulation System Based On Biologically Realistic Electronic
Neurons, S. R.-Le Masson renaud@enseirb.fr , G. Le Masson
gwendal.lemasson@bordeaux.inserm.fr , L. Alvado  , S. Sa hi  , J. Tomas , May.
2004, DOI: 10.1016/j.ins.2003.03.007, Information Sciences
* Contributed by Pritha Das


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09.03. Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate
Frontal Cortex , Science

Excerpts: In several areas of the macaque brain, neurons fire during
delayed-response tasks at a rate determined by the value of the reward expected
at the end of the trial. The activity of these neurons might be related to the
value of the expected reward or to the degree of motivation induced by
expectation of the reward. We describe results indicating that the nature of
reward-dependent activity varies across areas. Neuronal activity in
orbitofrontal cortex represents the value of the expected reward, whereas
neuronal activity in premotor cortex reflects the degree of motivation.

* Neuronal Activity Related to Reward Value and Motivation in Primate Frontal
Cortex, Matthew R. Roesch  , Carl R. Olson

, 04/04/09, Science : 307-310.


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09.04. The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing , Biol. Rev.

Abstract: The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is the
principal component of the mammalian biological clock, the neural timing system
that generates and coordinates a broad spectrum of physiological, endocrine and
behavioural circadian rhythms. The pacemaker of the SCN oscillates with a near
24 h period and is entrained to the diurnal light-dark cycle. (...) SCN is the
locus of the brain's endogenous calendar, enabling organisms to anticipate
seasonal environmental changes. The present review focuses on the neuronal
organization and dynamic properties of the biological clock and the means by
which it is synchronized with the environmental lighting conditions.

* The Brain's Calendar: Neural Mechanisms Of Seasonal Timing, M. A. Hofman
M.Hofman@nih.knaw.nl , Feb. 2004, DOI: 10.1017/S1464793103006250, Biological
Reviews
* Contributed by Atin Das


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10. Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles , Science

Excerpts: The acquisitions of mitochondria and plastids were important events
in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, supplying it with compartmentalized
bioenergetic and biosynthetic factories. Ancient invasions by eubacteria
through symbiosis more than a billion years ago initiated these processes.
(...) In losing their autonomy, endosymbionts lost the bulk of their genomes,
(...). In the process, symbionts acquired many host-derived properties, lost
much of their eubacterial identity, and were transformed into extraordinarily
diverse organelles that reveal complex histories that we are only beginning to
decipher.

* Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles, Sabrina D. Dyall , Mark
T. Brown , Patricia J. Johnson , 04/04/09, Science : 253-257


_________________________________________________________________

10.01. The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations , Science

Excerpts: Genetic studies are decoding the language plants and microbes use to
negotiate the symbioses that help feed the world

Bacterial or fungal invasions do not always cause disease. Some invasions--for
instance, when microbes break into the cells of plant roots--are decidedly
beneficial. By providing essential nutrients, the microbes help both their host
plants and the world's agricultural systems.

In one such symbiotic interaction, the roots of many plants are infected by
certain fungi that help them acquire phosphate from the soil.

* The Roots of Plant-Microbe Collaborations, Jean Marx  , Science 2004 304:
234-236.


_________________________________________________________________

10.02. Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree , ScienceDaily

Excerpts: The bacteria family tree may be facing some changes due to the recent
work of an evolutionary biologist (...). And that may change our understanding
of when bacteria and oxygen first appeared on earth. (...) has found that the
currently accepted dates for the appearance of oxygen-producing bacteria and
sulfur-producing bacteria on the early earth are not correct. She believes that
these bacteria appeared on earth much later than is now believed. (...) about
2.7 to 2.9 billion years ago, according to Blank, stromatolites, organisms of
the group Bacteria that use photosynthesis to create energy without producing
oxygen, first appeared.

* Biologist's Find Alters The Bacteria Family Tree, 2004/04/15, ScienceDaily &
Washington University In St. Louis
* Contributed by Atin Das


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10.03. Male-Female Conflict: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects And
Spiders , Biol. Rev.

Abstract: Some recent models suggest a new role for evolutionary arms races
between males and females in sexual selection. Female resistance to males is
proposed to be driven by the direct advantage to the female of avoiding
male-imposed reductions in the number of offspring she can produce, (...). This
article (...) test, in a two-step process, whether such new models of arms
races between males and females have been responsible for rapid divergent
evolution of male genitalia. The test revolves around the prediction that 'new
arms races' are less likely to occur in species in which females are largely or
completely protected (...).

* Male-Female Conflict And Genitalia: Failure To Confirm Predictions In Insects
And Spiders, W. G. Eberhard archisepsis@biologia.ucr.ac.cr , Feb. 2004, DOI:
10.1017/S1464793103006237, Biological Reviews
* Contributed by Atin Das


_________________________________________________________________

11. Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation , arXiv

Abstract: Ecolab and Webworld are both models of evolution produced by adding
evolution to ecological equations. They differ primarily in the form of the
ecological equations. Both models are self-organised to a state where
extinctions balance speciations. However, Ecolab shows evidence of this
self-organised state being critical, whereas Webworld does not. This paper
examines the self-organised states of these two models and suggest the likely
cause of the difference. Also the lifetime distribution for a mean field
version of Ecolab is computed, showing that the fat tail of the distribution is
due to coevolutionary adaption of the species.

* Ecolab, Webworld and Self-organisation, Russell K. Standish , 2004-04-06,
DOI: nlin.AO/0404011, arXiv
* Contributed by Carlos Gershenson


_________________________________________________________________

12. Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe , NewScientist

Excerpts:





(...) model could explain two puzzling observations. The first is the pattern
of hot and cold spots in the cosmic microwave background radiation,(...)
In the model, (...), the Universe curves in a strange way. One end is
infinitely long, but so narrow that it has a finite volume. At the other end,
the horn flares out, but not for ever - if you could fly towards the flared end
in a spaceship, at some point you would find yourself flying back in on the
other side of the horn (...).

* Big Bang Glow Hints At Funnel-Shaped Universe, Stephen Battersby  , 04/04/15,
New Scientist


_________________________________________________________________

13. Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons , BBC News

Excerpts:


The "shepherd" moons keep Saturn's F-ring in check



The Cassini probe en route to Saturn has spotted two "shepherd" moons which
keep one of the planet's rings in check through their gravitational influence.

Prometheus and Pandora stabilise Saturn's narrow, ribbon-like F-ring.

But the moons may have other, chaotic effects on the F-ring - their orbits
become unpredictable when they approach each other very closely.
(...)may also be responsible for features that sometimes form in the ring known
as clumps and strands.

* Saturn Probe Sights Mystery Moons, BBC News


_________________________________________________________________

14. UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5' , SpaceDaily

Excerpts:


(...) a quake measuring at least 6.4 magnitude on the Richter scale will hit a
31,200-square-kilometre area of southern California by September 5.



"Even two years back it was practically a dirty word to say earthquake
prediction," said Nancy Sauer, an organiser of the annual conference of the
Seismological Society of America which began yesterday in Palm Springs.

The UCLA team - made up of US, Japanese, Canadian, European and Russian experts
in pattern recognition, geodynamics, seismology, chaos theory, statistical
physics and public safety - says it has developed algorithms to detect
earthquake patterns.

The experts predicted in June an earthquake measuring 6.4 or higher would
strike within nine months in a 496-kilometre region of central California,
including San Simeon, where a 6.5-magnitude temblor struck December 22, killing
two people.

* UCLA Geophysicist Warns 6.4 Quake To Hit LA By Sept 5', 04/04/15, SpaceDaily


_________________________________________________________________

14.01. Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Ni  , Natue Science update

Excerpts:


El Ni  causes droughts and floods once every 3 to 7 years.


?JPL / NASA



Researchers have created a climate model that can successfully predict, in
hindsight, the past 24 El Ni  events with a lead time of two years.

That's a big improvement on previous models, which can only forecast the
Pacific climate disruptions six to nine months in advance,(...)
Chen and colleagues fed their model sea surface temperatures from 1856 to 2003.
Using a chunk of data, their model could successfully predict the tropical
Pacific climate two years later. The model captured all 24 El Ni  events since
1856; (...).

* Model May Give Two-Year Warning Of El Ni , Heike Langenberg  , 04/04/15,
Nature Science update


_________________________________________________________________

15. Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition , Science

Excerpts: Many routes have been developed for the synthesis of carbon
nanotubes, but their assembly into continuous fibers has been achieved only
through postprocessing methods. We spun fibers and ribbons of carbon nanotubes
directly from the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis zone of a furnace
(...). This process was realized through the appropriate choice of reactants,
control of the reaction conditions, and continuous withdrawal of the product
with a rotating spindle used in various geometries. This direct spinning from a
CVD reaction zone is extendable to other types of fiber (...).

* Carbon Nanotube Fibers from Chemical Vapor Deposition , Ya-Li Li , Ian A.
Kinloch , Alan H. Windle , 04/04/09, Science : 276-278.
* VIDEO - A video taken looking up at the reaction zone via a mirror placed at
the bottom of the reaction tube.


_________________________________________________________________

16. Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations , Internet-First
University Press

Excerpts: This video shows six laboratory demonstrations of chaos and nonlinear
phenomena, (...) The demonstrations are: (1) A tabletop waterwheel that is an
exact mechanical analog of the Lorenz equations, one of the most famous chaotic
systems; (2) A double pendulum, a paradigm of chaos in conservative systems;
(3) Airplane wing vibrations and aeroelastic instabilities, as exemplars of
Hopf bifurcations; (4) Self-sustained oscillations in a chemical reaction; (5)
Using synchronized chaos to send secret messages; and (6) Composing musical
variations with a chaotic mapping.

* Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H. ,
Internet-First University Press, 1994
* VIDEO - Video of Lab demonstrations 152763Kb Video Quicktime


_________________________________________________________________

17. An Error Catastrophe in Cancer? , Journal of Theoretical Biology

Abstract: A comparison between the evolution of cancer cell populations and RNA
viruses reveals a number of remarkable similarities. Both display high levels
of plasticity and adaptability as a consequence of high degrees of genetic
variation. It has been suggested that, as it occurs with RNA viruses, there is
a threshold in the levels of genetic instability affordable by cancer cells in
order to be able to overcome selection barriers (Trends Genet. 15 (1999) M57).
Here we explore this concept by means of a simple mathematical model. It is
shown that an error threshold exists in this model, which investigates both
competition between cancer cell populations and its impact on overall tumor
growth dynamics. Once the threshold is reached, the highly unstable tumor cell
populations, which were sustaining malignant growth, become unable to maintain
their genetic information, which in turn triggers a slowed down overall tumor
growth regime.

* An Error Catastrophe in Cancer?, Ricard V. Sol?, Thomas S. Deisboeck ,
2004-05-07, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.08.018, Journal of Theoretical Biology
228(1): 47-54
* Contributed by Carlos Gershenson


_________________________________________________________________

18. New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis' , Science Now

Excerpts: In some people, the immune system has a disconcerting tendency to
revolt: For some reason, it viciously attacks the body itself. For years
scientists have wondered what triggers this rebellion. (...) an aggressive
overproduction of a class of T cell that attacks the body's tissues. This T
cell coup can be prevented, they found, by exposing the mice to bacteria early
in life.
The immune system is like a mini-ecosystem--if there's a shortage of one type
of cell, another will furiously multiply to fill the niche.

* New Support for 'Hygiene Hypothesis', Jennifer Couzin  , 04/04/15, Science
Now


_________________________________________________________________

18.01. Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart , Science

Excerpts: Inspired by reports that cell infusions can heal animal hearts,
cardiologists are rapidly moving to test the idea in humans. Even believers
can't explain how or why it might work. (...)

The patient died of a stroke apparently unrelated to the bone marrow stem cells
he'd received 11 months earlier, and Perin notes that "we are seeing
angiogenesis and myogenesis": the growth of both new blood vessels and heart
muscle.

(...) But how? (...) "if function's improved and [patients] can climb a flight
of stairs, who cares?"

* Cell Therapy: Renovating the Heart, Jennifer Couzin  , Gretchen Vogel ,
04/04/09, Science : 192-194.


_________________________________________________________________

19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks





_________________________________________________________________

19.01. 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective , NY Times

Excerpts: (...) concluded that immigration policies promoted as essential to
keeping the country safe from future attacks have been largely ineffective,
producing little, if any, information leading to the identification or
apprehension of terrorists. (...)

"Hundreds of people's rights were violated, and, very importantly, the United
States is now seen around the world as a country where Arabs and Muslims can be
arrested in secret and held without charges. That's a very dangerous
development in terms of a country promoting democracy and human rights as an
antidote to terrorism."

* 9/11 Panel Calls Policies on Immigration Ineffective, Michael Janofsky  ,
04/04/17, NYTimes


_________________________________________________________________

19.02. Why Didn't We Stop 9/11? , NY Times

Excerpts: Bush You mean using a plane as a missile?

Briefer Exactly, Mr. President. We judged this credible partly because Murad
was a licensed pilot who had trained at four U.S. flight schools. For that
matter, Al Qaeda has shown an intriguing desire to train operatives as pilots.
A defector named L'Houssaine Kherchtou was scheduled to go to flight school in
Nairobi. A third, Essam al-Ridi, learned flying in Texas. (...).

Bush What about the Tom Clancy novel where the pilot crashes a plane into the
Capitol (...).

* Why Didn't We Stop 9/11?, Nicholas D. Kristof  , 04/04/17, NYTimes


_________________________________________________________________

19.03. Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential
Power , NY Times

Excerpts: For example, in its brief arguing that the courts have no
jurisdiction even to hear challenges to the open-ended detention of hundreds of
men taken from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States naval base at
Guant amo Bay, Cuba, the administration says judicial review "would place the
federal courts in the unprecedented position of micromanaging the executive's
handling of captured enemy combatants from a distant combat zone" and of
"superintending the executive's conduct of an armed conflict."

That would "raise grave constitutional concerns" under the separation of
powers, (...).

* Detention Cases Before Supreme Court Will Test Limits of Presidential Power,
Linda Greenhouse  , 04/04/18, NYTimes


_________________________________________________________________

20. Links & Snippets





_________________________________________________________________

20.01. Other Publications



- Retina Versus Cortex: Contrast Adaptation In Parallel Visual Pathways, S. A.
Baccus baccus@fas.harvard.edu , M. Meister , online 2004/04/07, Neuron, DOI:
10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00187-4
- Feeling By Sight Or Seeing By Touch?, L. Merabet  , G. Thut  , B. Murray  ,
J. Andrews  , S. Hsiao  , A. P.-Leone apleone@caregroup.harvard.edu , online
2004/04/07, Neuron, DOI: 10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00147-3
- Investigation Of Color Constancy With A Neural Network, R. Stanikunas
rytis.stanikunas@ff.vu.lt , H. Vaitkevicius  , J. J. Kulikowski , Online
2004/02/20, Neural Networks, DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2003.12.002
- Cognition Is Cool: Can Hemispheric Activation Be Assessed By Tympanic
Membrane Thermometry?, N. Cherbuin n.cherbuin@anu.edu.au , C. Brinkman , Online
2004/03/11, Brain and Cognition, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2004.02.014
- An Integration Site For Semantic Web Metadata, A. Harth aharth@isi.edu ,
2004/02/26, Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web,
DOI: 10.1016/j.websem.2003.12.002
- Agent-Based Semantic Web Services, N. Gibbins nmg@ecs.soton.ac.uk , S. Harris
swh@ecs.soton.ac.uk , N. Shadbolt nrs@ecs.soton.ac.uk , 2004/02/26, Web
Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, DOI:
10.1016/j.websem.2003.11.002
- A Method For Reconstructing Climate From Fossil Beetle Assemblages, A.
Huppert  , A. R. Solow , 2004/04/08, Alphagalileo & Proceedings Biological
Sciences
- Polynomial Epidemics And Clustering In Contact Networks, B. Szendroi  , G.
Csanyi , 2004/04/08, Alphagalileo & Biology Letters
- Sport And Exercise In Mind, E. Snell elaine.snell@which.net , 2004/04/15,
Alphagalileo
- Study Finds Nerve Damage Can Affect Opposite Side Of Body, 2004/04/13,
ScienceDaily & Massachusetts General Hospital
- 'Use It Or Lose It' Warning Rings True When It Comes To Exercise, 2004/04/16,
ScienceDaily & Ohio State University
- Alcoholism Risk Linked To Gene Involved In Brain Chemistry, 2004/04/016,
ScienceDaily & Indiana University
- A Model For Water Uptake By Plant Roots, T. Roose roose@maths.ox.ac.uk , A.
C. Fowler , online 2004/03/12, Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI:
10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.12.012
- On The Mechanistic Underpinning Of Discrete-Time Population Models With
Complex Dynamics, S. A. H. Geritz stefan.geritz@utu.fi , ? Kisdi , online
2004/02/26, Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.01.003
- Aging, Anti-Aging, And Hormesis, S. I. S. Rattan rattan@imsb.au.dk , online
2004/02/19, Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, DOI:
10.1016/j.mad.2004.01.006
- Government Mandated Blocking of Foreign Web Content, Maximillian Dornseif ,
2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI: cs.CY/0404005
- Mathematical Analysis of Multi-Agent Systems, Kristina Lerman , Aram Galstyan
, Tad Hogg , 2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI: cs.RO/0404002
- Periodically Varying Externally Imposed Environmental Effects on Population
Dynamics, M. Ballard , V.M. Kenkre , M.N. Kuperman , 2004-04-02, arXiv, DOI:
nlin.AO/0404008
- On the Universality of Rank Distributions of Website Popularity, Anton B.
Teslyuk , Serge A. Krashakov , Lev N. Shchur , 2004-04-05, arXiv, DOI:
cs.NI/0404010
- Computational Universality in Symbolic Dynamical Systems, Jean-Charles
Delvenne Petr Kurka , Vincent Blondel , 2004-04-08, arXiv, DOI: cs.CC/0404021
- Modularity from Fluctuations in Random Graphs and Complex Networks, Roger
Guimera , Marta Sales-Pardo , Luis A. N. Amaral , 2004-03-26, arXiv, DOI:
cond-mat/0403660
- Scale-Free Networks Generated By Random Walkers, Kimmo Kaski , 2004-04-05,
arXiv, DOI: cond-mat/0404088
- Topology of Large-scale Engineering Problem-solving Networks, Braha, Dan ,
Bar-Yam, Yaneer , 2004-04-07, Cogprints 3535 (Phys. Rev. E 69, 016113, 2004)
- Self-replicating Loop with Universal Construction, Daniel Mange ,
Andr?Stauffer , Enrico Petraglio , Gianluca Tempesti , 2004-04-15, Physica D:
Nonlinear Phenomena 191(1-2): 178-192, DOI: 10.1016/j.physd.2003.11.003
- Scientists' Collaboration Strategies: Implications for Scientific and
Technical Human Capital, Barry Bozeman , Elizabeth Corley , 2004-04-01,
Research Policy, Article in Press, Corrected Proof, DOI:
10.1016/j.respol.2004.01.008
- Berners-Lee Wins Inaugural Technology Prize, David Legard , 04/04/16, IDG
News Service
- Sony Debuts 25-GB Blu-Ray Paper Disc, Jay Lyman , 04/04/16, TechNewsWorld.
"Since the Blu-Ray Disc does not require laser light to travel through the
substrate, we were able to develop this paper disc," (...).
- Labrador Sea Slows Its Swirl  , Slowing cog in the ocean climate machine
could affect climate
- Sun Sets Songbirds' Compass, Calibration keeps birds on track for long
migrations
- Carbon Sinks, But Does It Stay?, Southern Ocean experiment adds new fuel to
the debate over ocean
fertilization
- One-Stop Shopping for cDNA, New global database lends a hand to gene hunters
- Male Bowerbirds Aim to Please, Flashy digs always impress, but mature females
also like a song and dance
- A Kinder, Gentler Baboon, Kenyan troop's peaceful culture flouts the
primates' loutish reputation
- Long Fuse for Cambrian Explosion, Fossils suggest diversification of life
happened earlier, slower than
thought
- Space Technology Hits The Slopes, Mark Peplow , 04/04/16, Nature Science
update,


Damping down vibrations lets skis run smoother.


?Digital Vision


- Memory Bottleneck Limits Intelligence, Tanguy Chouard , 04/04/15, Single spot
in brain determines size of visual scratch pad.
- Web Links Leave Abstracts Going Nowhere, John Whitfield  , 04/04/08, Nature
428, 592, DOI: 10.1038/428592a
- Long-Lasting Sensitization To A Given Colour After Visual Search 657,
Chia-Huei Tseng , Joetta L. Gobell  , George Sperling , DOI:
10.1038/nature02443
- Trekkie Communicator Ready To Go, 04/04/17, BBC News,If you have ever wanted
to emulate Star Trek and talk to colleagues via a lapel communicator, then now
is your chance.
- Lens Effect Reveals Distant World, David Whitehouse
  , 04/04/16, BBC News Online



_________________________________________________________________

20.02. Webcast Announcements


Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H.,
Internet-First University Press, 1994

World Economic Forum 2004, Davos, Switzerland   Riding the Next Democratic
Wave, Al-Thani, Khan, Vike-Freiberga, Wade, Soros, Zakaria, World Economic
Forum, 04/01/25
  The Future of Global Interdependence, Kharrazi, Held, Owens, Shourie, Annan,
Martin, Schwab, World Economic Forum, 04/01/25  Why Victory Against Terrorism
Demands Shared Values  The Process of Curricular Review: Redefining a
World-Class Education, Benedict Gross, Thomas Bender, Harvard@home, 04/01/21,
Dean of Harvard College Benedict Gross discusses Harvard's first comprehensive
review of the undergraduate curriculum in almost 3 decades. This program
introduces the process of curricular review by presenting two segmented
lectures. The first, by Dean Gross, outlines the approach and considerations in
undertaking the current review. The second lecture, presented by NYU Professor
Thomas Bender, presents a historical perspective on academic culture.   Cancer
Biology , NPR Talk of the Nation, 04/01/16, How the spread of cancer is like
wound healing gone awry.   Tracking Ebola , NPR Talk of the Nation, 04/01/16, A
new study might help scientists predict where Ebola may! strike next.

  CODIS 2004, International Conference On Communications, Devices And
Intelligent Systems, 2004 Calcutta, India, 04/01/09-10 EVOLVABILITY &
INTERACTION: Evolutionary Substrates of Communication, Signaling, and
Perception in the Dynamics of Social Complexity, London, UK, 03/10/08-10 The
Semantic Web and Language Technology - Its Po tential and Practicalities,
Bucharest, Romania, 03/07/28-08/08 ECAL 2003, 7th European Conference on
Artificial Life, Dortmund, Germany, 03/09/14-17 New Santa Fe Institute
President About His Vision for SFI's Future Role, (Video, Santa Fe, NM,
03/06/04) 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 13th Ann Intl Conf, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life
Sciences, Boston, MA, USA, 2003/08/08-10 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




_________________________________________________________________

20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements



  2004
  Advanced Simulation Technologies Conference (ASTC'04),
  Arlington, VA., USA, 04/04/18-22

  NKS
  (New Kind of Science) 2004 Conference and Minicourse,
  Boston, Massachusetts, 04/04/22-25


IDS'04 - Intentional Dynamic Systems Symposium, Memphis, TN, USA,  04/04/24-26


  New Horizons In Search Theory
, Newport, RI, 04/04/26-28


Human Systems Dynamics at Work: Complexity Tools for Today, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, 04/04/27-28


Life, a Nobel Story , Brussels, BE, 04/04/28

  Urban
  Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences
  of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse,  Manchester, UK,
  04/04/29-30

  Strategic Thinking in a Complex World, Smithsonian Resident Associates
Program, 04/05/01-22


What Really Matters ?The Global Forum 2004, Santa Fe, NM, 04/05/02-04

   International Conference on the Ontology of Spacetime,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 04/05/11-14

  5th
  International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004),
  Boston, MA, USA, 04/05/16-21

  3rd Intl Conf on
  Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004) "Transforming
  Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Success",
  Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 04/05/19-21

4th Intl Conf on
Fractals And Dynamic Systems In Geoscience, München, Germany, 04/05/19-22

  9th
  Annual Workshop on Economics and Heterogeneous Interaction Agents
  (WEHIA04), Kyoto, Japan, 2004/05/27-29

  13th
  International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious
  Diseases, Toulon, France, 04/06/03-05!


  ECC8
  Experimental Chaos Conference, Florence, Italy,
  04/06/14-17

  An Intl Tribute to Francisco Varela, Paris,04/06/18-20

  7th
Intl Conf on Linking Systems Thinking, Innovation,Quality, Entrepreneurship and
Environment (STIQE),
MARIBOR, SLOVENIA, 04/06/24-26


Biannual Meeting Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, Whistler, BC,
04/06/24-26


NAACSOS 2004, North American Association for Computational Social and
Organizational Science, Pittsburgh PA, 04/06/27-29


Statphys - Kolkata V An International Conference on Complex Networks:
Structure, Function and Processes , Kolkata, India, 04/06/27-30


ICAD 2004 10th International Conference on Auditory Display, Sydney, Australia,
04/07/06-09


3rd Intl School Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics Discrete Dynamical Systems and
Applications , Urbino (Italy), 04/07/07-09

  `Perspectives on Nonlinear Dynamics 2004 (PNLD-2004), Chen!
nai, India, 04/07/12-15

  From Animals To Animats
  8, 8th Intl Conf On The Simulation Of Adaptive Behavior
  (SAB'04), Los Angeles, USA, 04/07/13-17

  14th Annual International Conference The Society for Chaos Theory in
Psychology & Life Sciences , Milwaukee, WI, USA, 04/07/15-18


Facing Complexity, Wellington, NZ, 04/07/15-17


  Interdisciplinary Colloquium, Security Bytes, Security/Life/Terror
, Lancaster, 04/07/17-19

  Gordon Research Conference on "Oscillations & Dynamic Instabilities In
Chemical Systems", Lewiston, ME, 04/07/18-23

  3rd
Intl Conf Autonomous Agents & Multi-Agent Systems Conference (AAMAS 2004), New
York City, 04/07/19-23

7th
Intl Workshop on: Trust in Agent Societies , New York City, 04/07/19-20

  8th
  World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and
  Informatics, Orlando, Florida, USA, 04/07/18-21

  2004
  Summer Simulation MultiConference (SummerSim'04), San Jose
  Hyatt, San Jose, California, 04/07/25-29

  SME 2004 Symposium on Modeling
  and Control of Economic Systems , University in Redlands, CA, 04/01/28-31

  6th
  International Mathematica Symposium (IMS 2004), Banff,
  Canada, 04/08/02-06

   Fractals and Natural Hazards at
32nd Intl Geological Congress (IGC), Florence, Italy, 04/08/20-28


ICCC 2004, IEEE International Conference on Computational Cybernetics, ,
Vienna, Austria, 04/08/30-09/01

  ANTS
  2004, 4th International Workshop on Ant Colony
  Optimization and Swarm Intelligence, Brussels, Belgium,
  04/09/05-08

  Dynamic
  Ontology,
An Inquiry into Systems, Emergence, Levels of Reality,
  and Forms of Causality, Trento, Italy,
  04/09/08-11

  9th
  Intl Conf on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems
  (ALIFE9), Boston, Massachusetts, 04/09/12-15

  The
Verhulst 200 on Chaos, Brussels, BELGIUM, 04/09/16-18

  The
  8th Intl Conf on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature
  (PPSN VIII), Birmingham, UK, 04/09/18-22

  XVII Brazilian
  Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Sao Luis, Maranhao -
  Brazil, 04/09/22-24

   TEDMED Conference ,
Charleston SC, 04/10/12-15

  Wolfram
  Technology Conference, Champaign, Illinois,
  04/10/21-23

  6th Intl Conf on Electronic Commerce
ICEC'2004: Towards A New Services Landscape,  Delft, The Netherlands,
04/10/25-27

   Complexity and Philosophy Workshop - 2-Day Conference ,  Rio de Janeiro,
04/11







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