News tagged with complex systems
How Did Evolution Begin?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Life's ability to replicate itself is essential for evolution, yet even the simplest kind of replication requires a relatively complex system. So what kind of non-replicating system might ...
Sep 28, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (32) |
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International scientists set boundaries for survival
Human activities have already pushed the Earth system beyond three of the planet's biophysical thresholds, with consequences that are detrimental or even catastrophic for large parts of the world; six others ...
Sep 23, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (28) |
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Echoes of phlogiston in stem cell biology
Before it was learned that matter burns by taking up oxygen, most chemists sought to explain combustion as the release of a mysterious substance, which they named "phlogiston". Phlogiston theory was a conceptual breakthrough ...
Sep 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 gene complex may influence alcohol dependence
Cytokines are small proteins secreted by cells that serve as molecular messengers between cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines - which function in the immune system - may be involved in alcohol dependence (AD). A study of ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Sep 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
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Scientists find universal rules for food-web stability
The findings, published in this week's issue of Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels. The computations also reveal that s ...
Aug 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Game utilizes human intuition to help computers solve complex problems
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new computer game prototype combines work and play to help solve a fundamental problem underlying many computer hardware design tasks.
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jul 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
1
Social scientist suggests new research framework to study complex systems
The often-used one-size-fits-all approach to policies aimed at achieving sustainable social-ecological systems needs to be updated with a diagnostic tool to help scholars from multiple disciplines better frame the question ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Jul 23, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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A global model for the origin of species independent of geographical isolation
(PhysOrg.com) -- The tremendous diversity of life continues to puzzle scientists, long after the 200 years since Charles Darwin's birth. However, in recent years, consistent patterns of biodiversity have been identified ...
Jul 17, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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New book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the past 50 years it has become commonplace to think of Earth as a nurturing place, straining mightily to maintain equilibrium so that life might continue and flourish.
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 20, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (21) |
15
Birds of a feather: Study finds particles, molecules prefer not to mix
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the world of small things, shape, order and orientation are surprisingly important, according to findings from a new study by chemists at Washington University in St. Louis.
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
May 04, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Tough times, complex systems -- a modernisation story
(PhysOrg.com) -- Tough economic times call for tough measures to remain competitive. That goes for software modernisation as well. A European project has just released a prototype of a software engineering platform that could ...
May 04, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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Researchers break the animal kingdom's colour code
Charles Darwin was fascinated by the colours of animals - he once wrote to his colleague Alfred Russell Wallace asking why certain animals were "so
beautifully and artistically coloured".
Apr 16, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
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Measuring the Immeasurable: New Study Links Heat Transfer, Bond Strength of Materials
(PhysOrg.com) -- The speed at which heat moves between two materials touching each other is a potent indicator of how strongly they are bonded to each other, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer ...
Apr 13, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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Scientists develop a unique approach for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen
The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable ...
Apr 06, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (5) |
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Being Isaac Newton: Computer derives natural laws from raw data
If Isaac Newton had access to a supercomputer, he'd have had it watch apples fall - and let it figure out the physical matters. But the computer would have needed to run an algorithm, just developed by Cornell ...
Technology / Computer Sciences
Apr 02, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (21) |
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