Complexity Digest 2003.28

14-Jul-2003

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Content

  1. The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive?, NYTimes
    1. The New Card Shark, NYTimes
    2. When Does A Random Robin Hood Win?, Theor. Comp. Sc.
  2. Modelling And Solving Employee Timetabling Problems, Annals of Math. & Arti. Intell.
  3. Music Offers Scientists Way To Explore Mysteries Of Consciousness, Knight Ridder Newspapers
  4. Methods and Techniques of Complex Systems Science: An Overview, arXiv
  5. Who'D Want To Work In A Team?, Nature
  6. Naturalness And The Genetic Modification Of Animals, Trends in Biotech.
  7. Stem Cells Seek Out and Replace Injured Muscle, GNN
  8. How Tumors Keep Their Blood Vessels Flowing, Science
    1. Profiling Cell Networks via Perturbations, Science
  9. Is Perception Discrete Or Continuous?, Trends in Cogn. Sc.
  10. Language Evolution: Consensus and Controversies, Trends in Cognitive Sciences
    1. Evolving Grounded Communication for Robots, Trends in Cognitive Sciences
    2. Cognition is Categorization, CogPrints
  11. Perceptual Learning and Brain Reorganization, Science
    1. Spontaneous Muscle Twitches During Sleep Guide Spinal Self-Organization, Nature
    2. Gorilla And Orangutan Understanding Of First- And Second-Order Relations, Animal Cognition
  12. Sealed Off from Immune Surveillance, Science
    1. Pods Invade Infected Bladders, Science
  13. Machines that Reproduce May be Reality, NewsFactor Network
    1. Visionaries See Flexible Computers Using Less Power, EETimes.de
    2. New Memory That Doesn't Forget, Wired
  14. Construction Bugs Find Tiny Work, Nature Science Update
  15. White-Light Filaments for Atmospheric Analysis, Science
  16. Delta-Wing Function Of Webbed Feet In Birds, Nature
  17. Evolutionary Danger for Rainforest Species, Science
    1. Low Potential for Climatic Stress Adaptation in a Rainforest Drosophila Species, Science
    2. Acclimation Capacity Underlies Susceptibility to Climate Change, Science
  18. The Co-Evolution Of Individual Behaviors And Social Institutions, J. Theor. Biol.
    1. Your Farm Subsidies Are Strangling Us, NYTimes
    2. Sowing Seeds of Destruction, NYTimes
  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
    1. Bioterrorism Defense Priorities, Science
    2. 9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry, NYTimes
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Papers
    2. Webcast Announcements
    3. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements
    4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test

  1. The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive?, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The ubiquity of technology in the lives of executives, other business people and consumers has created a subculture of the Always On ¡X and a brewing tension between productivity and freneticism. For all the efficiency gains that it seemingly provides, the constant stream of data can interrupt not just dinner and family time, but also meetings and creative time, and it can prove very tough to turn off.(...) they are compulsively drawn to the constant stimulation provided by incoming data. Call it O.C.D. ¡X online compulsive disorder.

    1. The New Card Shark, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The online poker saloons that nurtured Mr. Moneymaker, 27, are just the beginning. Many players hone their craft with simulation software that allows them to test strategies by playing out thousands or even millions of hands. Some researchers are building software opponents that use sophisticated concepts from economics and artificial intelligence to seek out the best strategy, then use the knowledge to beat human players. The experience of playing thousands of games in roadhouses and casinos is being eclipsed by a cyborg-like intelligence produced by humans weaned on machine play.

    2. When Does A Random Robin Hood Win?, Theor. Comp. Sc. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: A certain two-person infinite game (between "Robin Hood" and the "Sheriff") has been studied in the context of set theory. In certain cases, it is known that for any deterministic strategy of Robin Hood's, if the Sheriff knows Robin Hood's strategy, he can adapt a winning counter-strategy. We show that in these cases, Robin Hood wins with "probability one" if he adopts a natural random strategy. We then characterize when this random strategy has the almost-surely winning property. We also explore the case of a random Sheriff versus a deterministic Robin Hood.
      • Source: When Does A Random Robin Hood Win?, W. Gasarch - gasarchacs.umd.edu, e. golub& a. srinivasan, DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3975(03)00289-5, 2003/05/15
      • Contributed by Pritha Das - prithadas01ayahoo.com

  2. Modelling And Solving Employee Timetabling Problems, Annals of Math. & Arti. Intell. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Employee timetabling is the operation of assigning employees to tasks in a set of shifts during a fixed period of time, typically a week. We present a general definition of employee timetabling problems (ETPs) that captures many real-world problem formulations and includes complex constraints. The proposed model of ETPs can be represented in a tabular form that is both intuitive and efficient for constraint representation and processing. We show that, on large and difficult instances of real world ETPs, where systematic search fails, local search methods perform well and solve the hardest instances.

  3. Music Offers Scientists Way To Explore Mysteries Of Consciousness, Knight Ridder Newspapers Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Researchers expect their music studies - aided by the latest techniques of genetics and brain imaging - to shed new light on the way brains work and help people suffering from brain damage or disease. Music also offers scientists another way to explore the unsolved mysteries of human consciousness. It can help explain how the brain processes external signals - in this case sound waves - that lead people to perform actions such as toe tapping, dancing and singing. "Music provides a panoramic window through which we can examine the neural organization of complex behaviors that are at the core of human nature," (...).

  4. Methods and Techniques of Complex Systems Science: An Overview, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In this chapter, I review the main methods and techniques of complex systems science. As a first step, I distinguish among the broad patterns which recur across complex systems, the topics complex systems science commonly studies, the tools employed, and the foundational science of complex systems. The focus of this chapter is overwhelmingly on the third heading, that of tools. These in turn divide, roughly, into tools for analyzing data, tools for constructing and evaluating models, and tools for measuring complexity. I discuss the principles of statistical learning and model selection; time series analysis; cellular automata; agent-based models; the evaluation of complex-systems models; information theory; and ways of measuring complexity. Throughout, I give only rough outlines of techniques, so that readers, confronted with new problems, will have a sense of which ones might be suitable, and which ones definitely are not.

  5. Who'D Want To Work In A Team?, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Biologists and their institutions are increasingly confronted by the challenges of working in major collaborations that other disciplines have already addressed. (...) Team science is everywhere these days. The trouble is, you'd never guess it from an inspection of the universities that house it or the agencies that fund and supposedly foster it. Last week, a meeting at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) on "Catalyzing team science" highlighted the difficulties, and proposed some solutions. What should disturb everybody is how far from reality many of those solutions are.

  6. Naturalness And The Genetic Modification Of Animals, Trends in Biotech. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: (...) concerns about genetic modification (GM) of plants and animals, for food in particular, have an important role in the public perception of GM. One of these concerns is the view that GM is `unnatural'. The author gives a new direction to this discussion, by contrasting the common sense view of nature and animals, with the scientific concept of nature and what is natural. The view of nature and what is natural is always normative. This is illustrated by making explicit the concept of nature in organic farming, which explains why GM is rejected.

  7. Stem Cells Seek Out and Replace Injured Muscle, GNN Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Two new types of stem cells have been found that can seek out injured muscle tissue and replace the damaged cells. Researchers in Italy used stem cells from blood vessels to repair muscle in mice with muscular dystrophy. And Canadian scientists found that stem cells from damaged muscle give rise to new muscle fibers. The studies reveal how different types of stem cells repair injured muscle and point to a common theme: Damaged tissues send out molecular signals that attract stem cells. The stem cells then multiply and form new muscle fibers, replacing the injured tissue.(...) The researchers also found that a protein released from injured muscle, called Wnt, stimulates the stem cells to form new muscle cells. Wnt also signals new muscle tissue to form in the developing embryo.(...) No body builders have yet contacted Rudnicki for Wnt supplements. However, he has started a company called StemPath to develop drugs that stimulate muscle stem cells within the body. Ultimately, he hopes to develop new therapies to combat aging and treat muscular degenerative disease.

  8. How Tumors Keep Their Blood Vessels Flowing, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Solid tumors usually feed their own growth by producing factors that stimulate the formation of new blood vessels. However, the tumor microenvironment also harbors factors that should promote the apoptotic death of the endothelial cells (ECs) that comprise these new vessels. Alavi et al. (p. 94) find that ECs are protected from both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis because they activate Raf-1 kinase. Given its critical role in cell survival, the Raf-1 kinase is a potentially target for anti-angiogenesis drugs.

    1. Profiling Cell Networks via Perturbations, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary: The properties of a regulatory network have been determined without the exhaustive examination of each experimental parameter. Gardner et al. (p. 102) explored a network of nine genes in the SOS pathway in Escherichia coli that regulates cellular responses to DNA damage and other stresses. Relatively small changes made near a physiological steady-state point (like that of a cell maintained in culture) allowed these nonlinear cellular processes to be modeled linearly. The transcription activity of each component of the network was altered, and the effects on the abundance of messenger RNA transcripts of the other components were measured. After making some assumptions about the limits of network connectivity and regulatory inputs for each gene, they could identify most of the known regulatory connections in this well-studied pathway.

  9. Is Perception Discrete Or Continuous?, Trends in Cogn. Sc. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: How do conscious perceptions evolve following stimulus presentation? The idea that perception relies on discrete processing epochs has been often considered, but never widely accepted. The alternative, a continuous translation of the external world into explicit perception, although more intuitive and subjectively appealing, cannot satisfactorily account for a large body of psychophysical data. Cortical and thalamocortical oscillations in different frequency bands could provide a neuronal basis for such discrete processes, but are rarely analyzed in this context. This review reconciles the unduly abandoned topic of discrete perception with current views and advances in neuroscience.

  10. Language Evolution: Consensus and Controversies, Trends in Cognitive Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Why is language the way it is? How did language come to be this way? And why is our species alone in having complex language? These are old unsolved questions that have seen a renaissance in the dramatic recent growth in research being published on the origins and evolution of human language. This review provides a broad overview of some of the important current work in this area. We highlight new methodologies (such as computational modeling), emerging points of consensus (such as the importance of pre-adaptation), and the major remaining controversies (such as gestural origins of language). We also discuss why language evolution is such a difficult problem, and suggest probable directions research may take in the near future.

    1. Evolving Grounded Communication for Robots, Trends in Cognitive Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: The computational and robotic synthesis of language evolution is emerging as a new exciting field of research. The objective is to come up with precise operational models of how communities of agents, equipped with a cognitive apparatus, a sensori-motor system, and a body, can arrive at shared grounded communication systems. Such systems may have similar characteristics to animal communication or human language. Apart from its technological interest in building novel applications in the domain of human-robot or robot-robot interaction, this research is of interest to the many disciplines concerned with the origins and evolution of language and communication.

    2. Cognition is Categorization, CogPrints Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: All of our categories consist in ways we behave differently toward different kinds of things, whether it be the things we do or don't, eat, mate with, or flee from, or the things that we describe, through our language, as prime numbers, affordances, or absolute discriminables. That is also all that cognition is for -- and about.

  11. Perceptual Learning and Brain Reorganization, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: In Hebbian learning, repeated events (such as feeding and the ringing of a bell) should produce increases in synaptic strength. Dinse et al. (p. 91) analyzed the cortical changes underlying such perceptual learning by using a lengthy period of finger tip stimulation at randomly assigned intervals of 100 to 3000 ms in human subjects. As expected from previous studies, tactile two-point discrimination was improved after this intense experience on the side that was stimulated but not on the unstimulated side. Improvement was blocked by memantine, an NMDA-receptor blocker, and enhanced by the psychostimulant amphetamine, which operates through the increased release of modulatory neurotransmitters. By combining measurements of somatosensory evoked potentials in primary somatosensory cortex with tactile discrimination thresholds, the authors showed a close correlation between the amount of coactivation-induced perceptual improvement and the degree of individual cortical reorganizati!

    1. Spontaneous Muscle Twitches During Sleep Guide Spinal Self-Organization, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: During development, information about the three-dimensional shape and mechanical properties of the body is laid down in the synaptic connectivity of sensorimotor systems through unknown adaptive mechanisms. In spinal reflex systems, this enables the fast transformation of complex sensory information into adequate correction of movements. (...) We also show that tactile feedback resulting from spontaneous muscle twitches during sleep1-3 does indeed modify sensorimotor transformation in young rats in a predictable manner. The results indicate that these twitches, corresponding to human fetal movements4, are important in spinal self-organization.

    2. Gorilla And Orangutan Understanding Of First- And Second-Order Relations, Animal Cognition Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Four orangutans and one gorilla matched images in a delayed matching-to-sample (dmts) task based on the relationship between items depicted in those images, thus demonstrating understanding of both first- and second-order relations. Subjects matched items on the basis of identity, color, or shape (first-order relations, experiment 1) or same shape, same color between items (second-order relations, experiment 2). Four of the five subjects performed above chance on the second-order relations dmts task within the first block of five sessions. (...) indicate the capability for abstract relational concepts in two species of great ape.

  12. Sealed Off from Immune Surveillance, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: Recurring bladder infections can be caused by certain strains of Escherichia coli. Anderson et al.(p. 105; see the cover and the news story by Ferber), working in a mouse model, found that these pathogens cause infections within the epithelial cells of the bladder. The bacteria multiply and differentiate to form distinct "pods" filled with bacteria that protrude from the bladder wall. The pods are sealed off from host immune responses and, like the bladder epithelium, are coated with uroplakin, which probably renders them impermeable.

    1. Pods Invade Infected Bladders, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary: The microbes responsible for urinary tract infections are elusive prey, often surviving onslaughts by the immune system and antibiotics and reemerging to strike again. A study reported on page 105 may provide a clue to what makes them so resilient.

  13. Machines that Reproduce May be Reality, NewsFactor Network Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Nanometer-scale robots running the JohnnyVon program might be "the key to low-cost manufacturing," environmental cleanup, or any application requiring large quantities of robotic helping hands, (...). "Self-replication can make such large quantities economically feasible," he added. Self-replication "is essential to nano-technology," (...). "We want to build one tiny machine that will go forth and replicate -- but not multiply ad infinitum." A built-in fail-safe automatically prevents JohnnyVon from infinite self-replication, Turney explained. Once the program runs out of codons to assemble, it stops.

    1. Visionaries See Flexible Computers Using Less Power, EETimes.de Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Perhaps the biggest change seen by experts is the pervasiveness of computers that can communicate over networks. Computers will be embedded in many more devices, and most will communicate over wireless networks. "Bluetooth has established a good initial position as the standard procedure for the future,¡¨ Muller-Schloer said. Structure-less networks like Bluetooth and other wireless concepts are only part of the overall picture. Sensor and vehicle networks will form bridges between end devices, while wired networks will continue to carry the main data communications load over greater distances.

    2. New Memory That Doesn't Forget, Wired Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: With both Motorola and IBM firmly lined up behind a single contender, the five-year search for a "universal RAM" technology offering a combination of non-volatility and high-speed random access appears to be all but over. According to Motorola, samples of the new magnetoresistive random access memory, or MRAM, chips will be distributed to developers by the end of 2003, and cell phones and PDAs incorporating MRAM should be on sale by mid-2004.

  14. Construction Bugs Find Tiny Work, Nature Science Update Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Her team stuck a film of Serratia marcescens, onto tiny beads. The microbes' rotating appendages carry the beads along, says Turner. And when plastered inside tiny tubes, their gyrating arms blend fluids twice as fast as diffusion alone. Turner hopes to train the bacteria to move at her bidding, perhaps by coaxing them towards light or chemicals that they can sense. (...) Bacteria are ideal nanoscale workhorses, being adapted to the microscopic world and its tricky conditions. (...) bacteria effectively swim in thick treacle, grinding to a halt the moment they stop swimming.

  15. White-Light Filaments for Atmospheric Analysis, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Most long-path remote spectroscopic studies of the atmosphere rely on ambient light or narrow-band lasers. High-power femtosecond laser pulses have been found to propagate in the atmosphere as dynamically self-guided filaments that emit in a continuum from the ultraviolet to the infrared. This white light exhibits a directional behavior with enhanced backward scattering and was detected from an altitude of more than 20 kilometers. This light source opens the way to white-light and nonlinear light detection and ranging applications for atmospheric trace-gas remote sensing or remote identification of aerosols. Air ionization inside the filaments also opens promising perspectives for laser-induced condensation and lightning control. The mobile femtosecond-terawatt laser system, Teramobile, has been constructed to study these applications.
    • Source: White-Light Filaments for Atmospheric Analysis, J. Kasparian, M. Rodriguez, , G. Méjean, J. Yu, E. Salmon, H. Wille, R. Bourayou, S. Frey, Y.-B. Andr, A. Mysyrowicz, R. Sauerbrey, J.-P. Wolf, L. Wöste, Science 61-64, Jul 4 2003

  16. Delta-Wing Function Of Webbed Feet In Birds, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Most foot-propelled swimming birds sweep their webbed feet backwards in a curved path that lies in a plane aligned with the swimming direction. (...), early in the power stroke, propulsion is achieved mostly by hydrodynamic drag on the foot, whereas there is a gradual transition into lift-based propulsion later in the stroke. (...) Because of their delta shape, webbed feet can generate propulsive forces continuously through two successivemodes, from drag at the beginning of the stroke, all the way through the transition to predominantly lift later in the stroke.

  17. Evolutionary Danger for Rainforest Species, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Can organisms always evolve in response to selective pressure? Hoffmann et al. (p. 100; see the Perspective by Roff) found that resistance to desiccation in a rainforest fruit fly did not budge after 30 generations of intense selection, even though this trait is easily selected in other species and despite ample genetic variation in this fly. Thus, specialist species already at their environmental limits may not be able to adapt to further change. This result raises concerns for conservation priorities and may affect models for how populations adapt to climate change.

    1. Low Potential for Climatic Stress Adaptation in a Rainforest Drosophila Species, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: The ability of sensitive rainforest species to evolve in response to climate change is largely unknown. We show that the Australian tropical rainforest fly Drosophila birchii exhibits clinal variation in desiccation resistance, but the most resistant population lacks the ability to evolve further resistance even after intense selection for over 30 generations. Parent-offspring comparisons indicate low heritable variation for this trait but high levels of genetic variation for morphology. D. birchii also exhibits abundant genetic variation at microsatellite loci. The low potential for resistance evolution highlights the importance of assessing evolutionary potential in targeted ecological traits and species from threatened habitats.

    2. Acclimation Capacity Underlies Susceptibility to Climate Change, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Recent reports have presented meta-analyses of global biological impacts of climate change (1, 2). However, there is debate as to the level of confidence ascribed to the certainty that global climate change has caused the observed biological changes (3). Two important considerations in the assessment of how climate change will impact organisms are (i) how close organisms are to their thermal limits in nature and (ii) an understanding of how organisms respond to increasing habitat temperatures, especially the degree to which organisms are able to adjust, or acclimatize, their thermal sensitivity.

  18. The Co-Evolution Of Individual Behaviors And Social Institutions, J. Theor. Biol. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: We present agent-based simulations of a model (...) in which group differences in social institutions are culturally transmitted and individual behaviors are genetically transmitted. We show that intergroup conflicts may explain the evolutionary success of both: (a) altruistic forms of human sociality towards unrelated members of one's group; and (b) group-level institutional structures such as food sharing which have emerged and diffused repeatedly in a wide variety of ecologies during the course of human history. Group-beneficial behaviors may evolve if (a) they inflict sufficient fitness costs on outgroup individuals and (b) group-level institutions limit the individual fitness costs of these behaviors (...).

    1. Your Farm Subsidies Are Strangling Us, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Cotton is our ticket into the world market. Its production is crucial to economic development in West and Central Africa, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of people there. Cotton accounts for up to 40 percent of export revenues and 10 percent of gross domestic product in our two countries, as well as in Benin and Chad. (...) This vital economic sector in our countries is seriously threatened by agricultural subsidies granted by rich countries to their cotton producers. Editor's Note: Amadou Toumani Toure and Blaise Compaore are the presidents of Mali and Burkina Faso.

    2. Sowing Seeds of Destruction, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: (...) African farmers will benefit from new knowledge and technology. But he's wrong about which technologies we should be offering. African farmers neither need nor want to produce American-style genetically modified crops. It is easy to understand Africa's lack of enthusiasm. The first generation of genetically modified food crops ¡X corn and soybean seeds ¡X were created to make pest management simpler on America's large, mechanized farms. The technologies would be far less effective on African farms, which are small and diversified and rely largely on human labor. These technologies don't make economic sense. In the United States, most farmers planting genetically modified

  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Bioterrorism Defense Priorities, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: Since September 11, 2001, U.S. defense strategies to counter bioterrorism have largely centered on smallpox. That concentration of effort has diverted attention and resources away from more basic general public health considerations that are even more vital to bioterror defense. Without the capacity to implement response plans and to treat cases that were unanticipated before the event--capacities that depend on a strong public health infrastructure--our present preparations are little more than window-dressing. Perhaps most disturbing is the limited usefulness of programs directed at defense against smallpox. Given the wide diversity of potential biological agents that might be used in an attack, it would seem prudent first to strengthen the public health system overall, a strategy that serves defense aims whatever biological agent might be employed. The lessons learned in the United States should be helpful to other nations that are vulnerable to bioterrorism and ev! en more helpful to the global effort to manage emerging infections of all kinds.

    2. 9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department, to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony. The panel also said the failure of the Bush administration to allow officials to be interviewed without the presence of government colleagues could impede its investigation, with the commission's chairman suggesting today that the situation amounted to "intimidation" of the witnesses.

  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Other Papers Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. The Case For Knowledge Translation: Shortening The Journey From Evidence To Effect, Dave Davis, Mike Evans, Alex Jadad, Laure Perrier, Darlyne Rath, David Ryan, Gary Sibbald, Sharon Straus, Susan Rappolt, Maria Wowk, Merrick Zwarenstein, BMJ 2003; 327: 33-35.
      2. Control of Axon Branch Dynamics by Correlated Activity in Vivo, Edward S., Akerman, Colin J., Cline, Hollis T., Science 2003 301:66-70
      3. Web Intelligence Newsletter, Issue 2, July 2003
      4. Asymmetric Pores In A Silicon Membrane Acting As Massively Parallel Brownian Ratchets, Sven Matthias, Frank Müller, 03 July 2003, Nature 424, 53 - 57, DOI: 10.1038/nature01736
      5. How the Body Fights Foreign Molecules, 03/06/30, bio.com
      6. Memory Conformity: Can Eyewitnesses Influence Each Other's Memories For An Event?, F. Gabbert - f.gabbertaabdn.ac.uk, a. memon & k. allan, 2003, DOI: 10.1002/acp.885
      7. Flashbulb And Factual Memories: The Case Of Rabin's Assassination, I. Nachson - nachsiamail.biu.ac.il & a. zelig, 2003, DOI: 10.1002/acp.887
      8. Visual Selective Behavior Can Be Triggered By A Feed-Forward Process, VanRullen, R. - rufinaklab.caltech.edu & koch, c., 2003
      9. Sequence of Human Chromosome 7 is Fine-Tuned and Finished, 2003-07-10, WUSTL
      10. Communication and Synchronization in Disconnected Networks with Dynamic Topology: Moving Neighborhood Networks, Joseph D. Skufca, Erik M. Bollt, 2003-07-3, arXiv, DOI: nlin.CD/0307010
      11. Almost Periodic Sequences, A. Muchnikm - amuchnikaint.glasnet.ru, a. semenov & m. ushakov, 2003/05/15, DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3975(03)00847-2
      12. Testing Fundamental Evolutionary Hypotheses, D. Penny - d.pennyamassey.ac.nzm, m. d. hendy & a. m. poole, 2003/06/14, DOI: 10.1016/S0022-5193(03)00099-7
      13. Mobile Phone Use Can Improve Memory, E. Scales - e.scalesabradford.ac.uk, 2003/07/03
      14. Computer Vision Study Links How Brain Recognizes Faces, Moods, 2003/07/03, ScienceDaily & Ohio State Univ.
      15. Engineers Develop Technology To Transmit Sensation Of Touch Over Internet, 2003/07/04, ScienceDaily & Univ. At Buffalo
      16. Extremely Short Lifespan In The Annual Fish Nothobranchius Furzeri, S. Valdesalici & A. Cellerino, 2003/07/07
      17. Mother-Lamb Acoustic Recognition In Sheep: A Frequency Coding, A. Searby & P. Jouventin, 2003/07/07, DOI: 10.1016/S0010-0285(02)00519-4
      18. Degree Of Mutual Ornamentation In Birds Is Related To Divorce Rate, K. Kraaijeveld, 2003/07/07
      19. Partial Begging: An Empirical Model For The Early Evolution Of Offspring Signalling, P. T. Smiseth, C. T. Darwell & A. J. Moore, 2003/07/07
      20. Human Hopping On Damped Surfaces: Strategies For Adjusting Leg Mechanics, C. T. Moritz & C. T. Farley, 2003/07/07
      21. Migration Takes Guts: Birds Modify Digestive Physiology During Migration, 2003/07/08, ScienceDaily & Univ. Of Rhode Island
      22. Researchers Use Lab Cultures To Create Robotic 'Semi-living Artist', 2003/07/09, ScienceDaily & Dartmouth College
      23. The Use Of Web Structure And Content To Identify Subjectively Interesting Web Usage Patterns, R. Cooley, May 2003, DOI: 10.1145/767193.767194

    2. Webcast Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. New Santa Fe Institute President About His Vision for SFI's Future Role, (Video, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/04)
      2. Edge Videos
        1. Einstein And Poincaré, Peter Galison, 03/06/
        2. Genome Changes Everything, Matt Ridley, 03/06/
        3. A United Biology, E.O. Wilson, 03/05/28
        4. In The Matrix, Martin Rees, 03/05/19
        5. Who Cares About Fireflies? Steven Strogatz, 03/05/12
      3. World Economic Forum Extraordinary Annual Meeting, Jordan, 03/06/21-23
      4. SPIE's 1st Intl Symp on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 2003/06/01-04
      5. NAS Sackler Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, Video/Audio Report, 03/05/11
      6. Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable, The University of Texas Austin, Texas USA, 2003/04/10-12
      7. New Trends In Industrial Partnership And Innovation Management At European Research Laboratories, CERN, Geneva, 2003/03/19 (with webcast)
        1. CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
      8. Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998

       


    3. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Exystence Thematic Institute - Algorithms And Challenges In Hard Combinatorial Problems - Trieste, Italy, 03/07/01-31, Turin, Italy, 03/10/01-30
      2. 2003 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2003), Chicago, IL,2003/07/12-16
      3. 2nd Intl Joint Conf on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS-2003), Melbourne, Australia, 2003/07/14-18
        1. 4th Workshop on Multi-Agent Based Simulation, Melbourne, Australia, 2003/07/14
      4. 7th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI 2003), Orlando, Florida, 2003/07/27-30
      5. BIFURCATIONS 2003, Southampton, UK, 03/07/28-30
      6. Intl Conf on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: SPIC '03, Orlando, Fl, USA, 2003/07/31-08/02
      7. Leadership for Complex Changes - Seattle Conference, Seattle, WA USA, 03/08/04-05
      8. 13th Annual International Conference, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life Sciences,Boston, MA, USA, 2003/08/08-10
      9. Thematic Institute "Networks and Risks", Budapest, Hungary, 03/08/25 - 09/27
      10. Conference on Growing Networks and Graphs in Statistical Physics, Finance, Biology and Social Systems, Rome, 03/09/01-05
      11. Call for Papers on Dynamical Hierarchies, Special Issue of Artificial Life, Deadline: 2003/09/05
      12. 7th European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL-2003), Dortmund, Germany, 2003/09/14-17
      13. A Dual International Conference on Ethics, Complexity & Organisations & Creativity, London, UK, 2003/09/17-18
      14. 1st German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies (MATES'03), Erfurt, Germany, 2003/09/22-25
      15. Dynamics Days 2003, XXIII Annual Conference, 4 Decades of Chaos 1963-2003, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 03/09/24-27
      16. Improving The NHS Through The Lens Of Complexity, U Exeter, UK, 03/09/24-26
      17. Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT, Cambridge, MA, 2003/09/24-25
      18. Intl School Mathematical Aspects of Quantum Chaos II Quantum Chaos on Hyperbolic Manifolds, Schloss Reisensburg (Günzburg, Germany), 03/10/04-11
      19. 2003 IEEE/WIC Intl Joint Conf. Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, Halifax, Canada, 2003/10/13-17
      20. American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) 2003 Conference (H.v.Foerster), Vienna, Austria , 2003/11/10-15
      21. Trends And Perspectives In Extensive And Non-Extensive Statistical Mechanics, In Honour Of The 60th Birthday Of Constantino Tsallis, Angra Dos Reis, Brazil, 2003/11/19-21
      22. ICDM '03: The Third IEEE International Conference on Data Mining, Melbourne, Florida, USA, 2003/11/19-22
      23. 4th Intl Conf on Systems Science and Systems Engineering, Hong Kong, 03/11/25-28
      24. 3rd International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex System, Guangzhou, China, 2003/11/29-30
      25. 2nd International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2003/12/15-17
      26. 1st International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced Information Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 04/01/29-30
      27. 4th Intl ICSC Symposium Engineering Of Intelligent Systems (EIS 2004), Island of Madeira, Portugal, 04/02/29-03/02
      28. Fractal 2004, "Complexity and Fractals in Nature", 8th Intl Multidisciplinary Conf , Vancouver, Canada, 2004/04/04-07
      29. Urban Vulnerability and Network Failure: Constructions and Experiences of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, Manchester, UK, 04/04/29-30
      30. Fifth International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA, USA, 2004/05/16-21
      31. 13th International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious Diseases, Toulon, France, 04/06/03-05

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      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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