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thursday :: february 27, 2003
   
 
how we sense smells: olfactory receptors are metalloproteins

Of the human senses, the sense of smell is the least understood. Now, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have sniffed out potential clues to how olfactory receptors in the nose detect odors. Those clues may also explain why dietary zinc deficiencies lead to a loss of smell.

Olfactory receptors are proteins that bridge through the cell membrane. Kenneth S. Suslick and his colleagues - Zaida A. Luthey-Schulten and Jiangyun Wang - investigated the possibility that olfactory receptors are metalloproteins (proteins that contain a metal ion as part of their structure) and have found that the structure of the protein changes dramatically when a zinc or copper ion binds to it. They propose that the olfactory response to an odorant involves this change in structure that pushes and pulls part of the olfactory receptor protein into and out of the cell in a 'shuttlecock' motion. This back-and-forth motion passes information through the cell membrane.

The average human nose can detect nearly 10,000 distinct scents, a feat that requires about 1,000 olfactory genes, or roughly 3 percent of the human genome. Only recently have the genes responsible for smell been identified. "When we searched the genome data, we found an identical site in more than 75 percent of the olfactory receptors that looks like it can bind to metal ions very strongly," Suslick said. The structure of these receptors is thought to be a protein that weaves in and out of the cell membrane seven times. Between the fourth and fifth helices, the scientists found an uncommonly long loop that they suspected contained the binding site for a metal ion. >from *Metal Ions May Play Big Role In How We Sense Smells*, february 24, 2003

related context
>
how the nose knows a rose-or a mate (odors and pheromones). february 13, 2003
> insects' sense of smell: key step uncovered. january 10, 2002
> how mammals distinguish different odors. march 5, 1999

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metalloproteins sprinkler

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wednesday :: february 26, 2003
   
 
space/time atoms?: quantum gravity-based universe

With fresh approaches to quantum gravity, the big questions about the beginning of the universe and the possibility of time and space as particles are now seriously being considered.

The problem with Einstein's universe is that it lacks an underlying quantum theory. Physicists now believe that quantum physics is more fundamental than classical physics. As with all forces in nature, except for gravity, there is a classical theory and a fundamental quantum theory. For example, electromagnetism is a classical theory, and underlying electromagnetism, is quantum electrodynamics. Physicist Fotini Markopoulo Kalamara with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics do not think that gravity should be exempt from this pattern. Classically, Einstein's theory of general relativity describes gravity, but what is yet to be found is the underlying theory, quantum gravity.

"Space and time are not at all our daily intuitive notions of three-dimensional space surrounding us and the time of our clocks; scientists want to know what space and time really are, and we do not yet know that," she said.

The tiny scale at which the microscopic structure of space and time becomes observable is the Planck scale. To get an idea of how small that is, imagine the ratio between the size of the earth and the size of a nucleus. The nucleus is a 100 trillion trillion times smaller than the earth. Now go down another 100 trillion trillion times: this is the Planck scale, where our understanding of space and time breaks down.

Yes in spite of the amazingly tiny scale, researchers can still do testable science. "Consider matter; we know that matter is made of atoms," she said. "However, scientists in the 1900s did not know that and were doubtful that we could ever test atomic theories of matter. The situation is similar with space and time. Are there atoms of space/time, and if so, can we 'see' them?" >from *Quantum physicist speaks on possibility of space/time atoms. february 15, 2003

related context
>
chandra discovers 'rivers of gravity' that define cosmic landscape. august 1, 2002
> search for gravity waves: another window into the universe. december 10, 2001
> GLAST Mission. GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) is a next generation high-energy gamma-ray observatory with launch anticipated in 2006. Possibilities of using gamma-ray bursts to detect quantum gravity effects (i.e indirectly detect space-time atoms).
> About the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Institute established itself as an international focal point of cutting-edge research in foundational theoretical physics, pursuing research in quantum gravity, string theory, quantum information theory and foundations of quantum mechanics.

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instrument variation for a planck scale

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tuesday :: february 25, 2003
   
 
deaf03: data knitting (from wunderkammer to metadata)

Dutch Electronic Art Festival (DEAF) is a biennial international and interdisciplinary festival organized by V2_Organisation, Institute for the Unstable Media, in Rotterdam. Deaf 03 (February 25 - March 9, 2003) will explore the artistic and strategic potential of databases, knowledge management and archives in very divers forms.

This year's theme Data Knitting ­ the interweaving of information ­ focus on the political, economical, social, historical, epistemological and software-based implications of techniques for data clustering and data combination. The program emphasize the role of interactivity as a method to manipulate, transform and individually shape media realities.

In various contemporary views the archive has proved to be a strong metaphor. In the early days of the information age, digitally speaking, all data were equal then, whether they were text, image, sound, protocol, program code or whatever. Since the 1990s a new form of structuring digital archives has emerged. Now it is not just the individual data that are being stored in databases. The relationships and correlations between the various data are now also being stored, by using 'metadata' (also known as 'tags'). Metadata as means for ordering, hierarchizing, streamlining and evaluating have become increasingly important as social, political and economical instruments in what has been considered an informational sphere free of values for so long. Information isn't power, but knowledge is. Knowledge is tagged, or intelligently grouped and combined, information. Knowledge is the result of the (private or public, controllable or associative, open or concealed) knowledge management of data and data clusters.

We are living in the world's online archive, or, more to the point: we are living in the world-as-archive, as a constellation of databases.

V2_Organisation was founded in 1981 by a group of multimedia artists in Den Bosch as a centre for art and (media-) technology. V2_ focuses on the merging of different media and the relationships which occur between them through creative activities, especially, those activities dealing with the electronic networks, Internet and the World Wide Web. Media are increasingly becoming means to construct realities, rather than means to represent reality. Media do not depict the existing world, they replace it with a different reality, a 'media reality' or rather 'media realities'. How different media shape reality is a recurrent theme in V2_ programs. >from*From DEAF03 festival* and V2_Organisation websites.

related context
>
interview on deaf03 with alex adriaansens, director of v2. january 10, 2003 . "Throughout the ages, mankind has developed many methods to describe the world. The Wunderkammer, as a precursor of the 19th century museum, is a very good example of this. In the 17th century, European explorers and merchants visited all these exotic places and brought back objects, texts, drawings and even natives. All these informative objects were exhibited side by side, constructing knowledge of parts of the world, just like digital databases ­ where metadata structure our knowledge ­do now. DEAF03 Data Knitting touches upon the question how we can
understand and interpret the world as a complex whole of interdependent parts and processes."
> science commons: building the free flow of knowledge. march 15, 2002
> v2_organisation manifesto . 1987

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step-by-step data knitting

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monday :: february 24, 2003
   
 
memory recall: reliability and limitations of memory

During a recent study of memory recall and the use of suggestive interviewing, UC Irvine cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus successfully planted false memories in volunteers of several study groups -- memories that included such unlikely events as kissing frogs, shaking hands with Bugs Bunny at Disneyland, and witnessing a demonic possession.

Loftus conducted her study by having volunteers conduct a set of actions that mixed the common place with the unusual and even bizarre. Later, her research team asked volunteers to imagine additional actions they performed that day, such as kissing a frog. At a future time, participants were asked to recall their actions on that specific day; 15 percent of the study's volunteers claimed they had actually performed some of the actions they had only imagined. In another study, Loftus showed how false memories can be planted with a visual. Loftus and her colleagues exposed volunteers to a fake print advertisement describing a visit to Disneyland where they would meet Bugs Bunny. Later, 33 percent of these volunteers claimed they knew or remembered the event happening to them (Bugs Bunny is a Warner Bros. character and has never appeared at Disneyland.) The false memory rate was boosted when people were given multiple exposures to the fake advertisement. In one study, 36 percent of those given three exposures said they met Bugs Bunny, compared to only 9 percent in a control condition.

These studies continue three decades of research by Loftus proving that memory is highly susceptible to distortion and contamination. >from *Kissing Frogs To Demonic Possession, People Are Led To Believe They Experienced The Improbable*, february 17, 2003

related context
>
mirroring evil: nazi imagery/recent art. march 18, 2002
> eyes and ears understand differently. august 16, 2001
> a paradigm shift in neuroscience: memory loss in old age no longer linked to dying brain cells. november 25, 1998
> memory. wikipedia
> a guide through the labyrinth of memory. exhibition at the exploratorium

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kiss frogs

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friday :: february 21, 2003
   
 
las paredes hablan

"Azul
        Fluido
De la ventana cae
Llega hasta el suelo
        Estalla..."

                Antonio Tovar

Antonio Tovar (Mexico DF, 1965), painter, painter and photographer, has been travelling for the past 5 years through america and europe and the islands in between collecting series of close-up pictures which unveil the constant, often ignored, too often I would rather say, time metamorphosis of matter. The pictures, of textures, of intimist glance, try to provoke the viewer showing hard-to-place locations and confusing shape, contrast at forms.

Exhibition *las paredes hablan* by Antonio Tovar in *straddle3**. friday february 21, 2003 at 20:30h

related context
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Colors, forms and emotions by Antonio Tovar
> artificial landscapes: an aerial tour to the nanoland. october 24, 2002

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talking walls: product

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thursday :: february 20, 2003
   
 
vision and art: how artists can manipulate the human visual system

Put away those sunglasses, because the heat and brightness depicted in the fiery Impressionist sun is nothing but an illusion, a well-kept secret of knowing artists, from Monet to da Vinci. And, by the way, yes, Mona Lisa is hiding something underneath her smile. Neuroscientist Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University Medical School revealed some of the science behind human visual perception of art.

Part of the human visual system consists of the 'colorblind' mammalian visual system (the same system found in cats and dogs). The mammalian visual system can see three dimensions, and recognize things that move (this is what we use to navigate our environment). As primates, humans also have an object recognition system that sees in color, recognizes faces and evaluates the environment. We use both systems simultaneously.

Artists like Monet understood this dichotomy in our visual processes and used it empirically to give the illusion of color and space. The two parts are sometimes called the 'where' and 'what' system. The 'where' system is the 'colorblind' part that allows us to orient objects spatially, whereas the 'what' system lets us recognize and evaluate them.

"I'm demystifying the procedures that some artists have known about for years, but not debunking their art in any way," she said. "These artists - the Impressionists, Da Vinci, Chuck Close, and Robert Silvers, for example-discovered fundamental truths that scientists are only now unraveling." >from *From da Vinci to Monet: Understanding how artists can manipulate the human visual system*, february 15, 2003

related context
>
neuroscientists find brain's key to perceiving color. january 29, 2003
> eye gaze: implications for new-age technology. december 4, 2002
> living color:natural color helps our memory. may 8, 2002
> the magic of light: light art exhibition. february 8, 2002
> artwork and medical diagnostic skills: art as visual training to be a better observer . october 19, 2001

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where + what

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wednesday :: february 19, 2003
   
 
synapses: plasticity and stability

A Duke University Medical Center neurobiologist has identified key mechanisms by which the intricate 'protein machines' that govern the strength of connections among neurons build and remodel themselves to adjust those connections.

Such remodeling of the connections, called synapses, is central to the establishment of brain pathways during learning and memory, said the scientists. Also, malfunction of the synaptic machinery might well play a fundamental role in the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

Neurobiologist Michael Ehlers reported extensive experiments revealing the function of a structure known as the 'post-synaptic density' (PSD). The PSD is so named because it is a thickening of the membrane at the connection point between neurons, where one neuron receives biochemical signals called neurotransmitters from its neighbor. Such neurotransmitters are themeans by which one neuron triggers the receiving neuron to launch a nerve impulse. Ehlers explored the gain or loss of a multitude of known PSD proteins. "I found that neurons in these cultures replace the content of this signaling machine multiple times a day," said Ehlers. "And if this recapitulates what's going in the mammalian brain, this means that synapses are completely turning over all of their constituents multiple times a day ­ a stunning finding."

Neuroscientists have long been intrigued in how the brain changes with learning and experience, a phenomenon called plasticity. Yet, as Ehlers points out, "perhaps we need to think more closely about how connections in the brain remain stable in the face of such incredible ongoing turnover." >from *New insights into how the nerve connection machinery remodels itself*, february 9, 2003

related context
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synaptic plasticity: how experiences rewire the brain. january 23, 2003

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protein machine

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tuesday :: february 18, 2003
   
 
meditation' biological impact

In a small but highly provocative study, a University of Wisconsin-Madison research team has found, for the first time, that a short program in 'mindfulness meditation' produced lasting positive changes in both the brain and the function of the immune system.

The findings suggest that meditation, long promoted as a technique to reduce anxiety and stress, might produce important biological effects that improve a person's resiliency.

'Mindfulness meditation,' often recommended as an antidote to the stress and pain of chronic disease, is a practice designed to focus one's attention intensely on the moment, noting thoughts and feelings as they occur but refraining from judging or acting on those thoughts and feelings. The intent is to deepen awareness of the present, develop skills of focused attention, and cultivate positive emotions such as compassion.

Richard Davidson from the HealthEmotions Research Institute at University of Wisconsin-Madison, led the research team. >from*UW study reports sustained changes in brain and immune function after meditation*, february 4, 2003

related context
>
trance passages: explores science of altered states of consciousness. march 7, 2002

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buddha: the one who is intuitive and awakened

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monday :: february 17, 2003
   
 
oldest light: milestone in cosmology

NASA released the best 'baby picture' of the Universe ever taken, which contains such stunning detail that it may be one of the most important scientific results of recent years.

The new cosmic portrait -- capturing the afterglow of the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background -- was captured by scientists using NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) during a sweeping 12-month observation of the entire sky.

One of the biggest surprises revealed in the data is that the first generation of stars to shine in the Universe first ignited only 200 million years after the Big Bang, much earlier than many scientists had expected.

In addition, the new portrait precisely pegs the age of the Universe at 13.7 billion years old, with a remarkably small one percent margin of error.

The WMAP team found that the Big Bang and Inflation theories continue to ring true. The contents of the Universe include 4% atoms (ordinary matter), 23% of an unknown type of dark matter, and 73% of a mysterious dark energy. The new measurements even shed light on the nature of the dark energy, which acts as a sort of an anti-gravity. >from *New Image Of Infant Universe Reveals Era Of First Stars, Age Of Cosmos, And More*, february 11, 2003

related context
>
center for cosmological physics: probing phenomena beyond standard model. september 13, 2001
> first light. august 14, 2001
> Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

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univers contents

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thursday :: february 13, 2003
   
 
live from the blogosphere!

Rhizome.LA organize "Live from the Blogosphere!" on February 15, 2003, in which renowned bloggers and technologists will explore the online phenomenon of weblogs and their impact on American popular culture.

Co-producers Susannah Breslin, Xeni Jardin, and Beverly Tang --in conjunction with Rhizome.LA , the Electronic Orphanage gallery, and the Southern California Wireless Users Group --present this evening of panel discussions and a live "town hall" meeting on the past, present, and future of blogging.

Recently, blogs have been written about in The New York Times, Newsweek, and The Washington Post, featured in PBS television specials, deconstructed at conferences held at Yale University and the University of California at Berkeley--and new blogs continue to spring into existence every day. So, what's all the fuss about? Why is the Blogosphere expanding so quickly? How will blogs change the ways in which we relate to each other on and offline? And, what's a blog anyway?

"Live from the Blogosphere!" brings together six innovators in blogging: Mark Frauenfelder, Heather Havrilesky, Evan Williams, Susannah Breslin, Doc Searls, and Tony Pierce. The panel will discuss the birth of blogging, the emergent tension between blogs and traditional journalism, innovations in blogging such as video-blogging, audio-blogging, and mobile-blogging, the shifting roles of race and gender in the Blogosphere, the state of the blog economy, and the way blogs may be reshaping contemporary media. >from *Live from the Blogosphere!*

related context
> weblog: a new flow of information. may 15, 2002
> *911 keys ground zero. media evolution . september 11, 2001 [updated: january 1, 2002]
> Google Buys Pyra: Blogging Goes Big-Time By Dan Gillmor. siliconvalley.com. february 15, 2003
> Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality By Clay Shirky. February 8, 2003
> Big Internet Players Show New Interest in Weblogs By Carl Bialik. Wall Street Journal. February 5, 2003
> Blogs open doors for developers By David Becker. CNET News.com. January 31, 2003
> New biz on the blog By Jim McClellan. The Guardian. January 30, 2003

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blogosphere virtual set

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wednesday :: february 12, 2003
   
 
fiduciary licence agreement v1.0: legal stability for free software

The Free Software Foundation Europe announced the first publicly available version of its Fiduciary Licence Agreement (FLA); an agreement that will help securing the legal stability of Free Software by allowing the FSF Europe to act as the fiduciary for Free Software authors and projects. By this, the Fiduciary Licence Agreement will help retaining the legal maintainability of Free Software, making sure that Free Software remains legally safe to use in all areas commercial or non-commercial.

While reducing the legal risks for authors of Free Software, it will enable the FSF Europe to defend Free Software on behalf of the author against abuse - even in court, if necessary.

And it will provide a solid neutral ground for projects with parties involved that differ in their aims and policies, be they commercial or non-commercial. >from *FSF Europe releases Fiduciary Licence Agreement V1.0*. february 4, 2003

related context
>
fiduciary licence agreement v1.0.
> copyright licenses free of charge : released by creative commons. december 17, 2002
> hessla: hacktivismo enhanced-source software license agreement . december 5, 2002
> opus: digital commons in culture. july 17, 2002

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court of appeals: fsf district

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tuesday :: february 11, 2003
   
 
sapphire/slammer: milestone in computer worm evolution

A team of network security experts in California has determined that the computer worm that attacked and hobbled the global Internet (January 25) was the fastest computer worm ever recorded.

Within 10 minutes of debuting at 5:30 a.m. (UTC) Jan. 25 (9:30 p.m. PST, Jan. 24) the worm was observed to have infected more than 75,000 vulnerable hosts. Thousands of other hosts may also have been infected worldwide. The infected hosts spewed billions of copies of the worm into cyberspace, significantly slowing Internet traffic, and interfering with many business services that rely on the Internet.

The Sapphire worm's software instructions, at 376 bytes, are only one-tenth the size of the Code Red worm, which spread through the Internet in July 2001. Sapphire exploited a known vulnerability in Microsoft SQL servers used for database management, and MSDE 2000, a mini version of SQL for desktop use.

The team in California investigating the attack relied on data gathered by an array of Internet 'telescopes' strategically placed at network junctions around the globe. These devices sampled billions of information-containing 'packets' analogous to the way telescopes gather photons. >from *Sapphire/Slammer worm shatters previous speed records for spreading through the Internet*. february 4, 2003

related context
>
The Spread of the Sapphire/Slammer Worm By David Moore, Vern Paxson, Stefan Savage, Colleen Shannon, Stuart Staniford, and Nicholas Weaver. february 4, 2003
> CERT Advisory CA-2003-04 MS-SQL Server Worm. january 25, 2003
> i love you :: computer_virus_hacker_culture. may 23, 2002

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worm-eaten: program empty body

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monday :: february 10, 2003
   
 
revolutionizing science and engineering through cyberinfrastructure

This is the report released by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. Like the physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, power grids, telephone lines, and water systems that support modern society, 'cyberinfrastructure' refers to the distributed computer, information and communication technologies combined with the personnel and integrating components that provide a long-term platform to empower the modern scientific research endeavor.

For scientists and engineers, report states, cyberinfrastructure has the potential to "revolutionize what they can do, how they do it, and who participates." The seeds of this revolution are seen in community-driven efforts, supported by NSF and other agencies, such as the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations (NEES), the Grid Physics Network (GriPhyN) and the National Virtual Observatory (NVO).

"We've clearly documented extensive grass-roots activity in the scientific and engineering research community to create and use cyberinfrastructure to empower the next wave of discovery," said Dan Atkins, chair of the advisory committee. "NSF has been a catalyst for creating the conditions for a nascent cyberinfrastructure-based revolution. We're at a new threshold where technology allows people, information, computational tools, and research instruments to be connected on a global scale." >from * Report Envisions A Future Cyberinfrastructure That Will 'Radically Empower' The Science And Engineering Community *. february 4, 2003

related context
>
Revolutionizing Science and Engineering through Cyber-infrastructure. Report of the NSF Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure. february 1, 2003
> transfer data at world record pace: developing grid concept. november 19, 2002
> national virtual observatory to put the universe online. november 6, 2001

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cyberinfrastructure supplies

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thursday :: february 6, 2003
   
 
rna: life's original seed and nanotechnology

The Purdue University research team that recently created a tiny motor out of synthetic biological molecules has found further evidence that RNA molecules can perform physical work, a discovery that could advance nanotechnology and possibly solve fundamental mysteries about life itself.

Peixuan Guo has discovered how viral RNA molecules bind an energy-bearing organic molecule known as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the crucial substance used to transfer metabolic energy in living things. Now one of life's most mysterious and ancient storehouses of information can be moved by one of its most important fuels. "The fact that RNA can be made to bind ATP in the phi29 virus could imply that these two molecules were among the first to partner in Earth's dance of life," said Guo. He theorizes that because RNA can also bind ATP, it might be not only life's original seed molecule, but also able to direct the release of the energy needed to create life from that seed.

DNA, RNA and ATP are substances long known to be central to life's processes, but knowledge about their many functions in living things is still emerging. It is uncertain whether the RNA in living things has ever directed any of ATP's actions, but for the moment, Guo's group has already found a way to make ATP move RNA around. His team has learned to assemble several strands of RNA into a hexagonally-shaped 'engine' with a strand of DNA functioning as the axle. When fed a supply of ATP fuel, the RNA strands kick against the axle in succession, much like pistons in a combustion engine. Such minuscule motors could find applications in nanotechnology. "The world's smallest machines will need equally small motors to propel them," Guo said. "Ours uses organic molecules as fuel, so no special power source would need to be developed." >from * Purdue researchers connect life's blueprints with its energy source*. february 3, 2003

related context
>
RNA. From Wikipedia

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pistons for labor

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wednesday :: february 5, 2003
   
 
to support uses of embedded computers

The computing world is moving from the desktop and workstation to an arena of embedded and wearable computers," remarked Sandeep Shukla, who recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to help solve one of the major problems in this transition.

Embedded computers, he explained, are used in every sphere of modern life. More and more, embedded computers are becoming the brains behind mechanisms that we rely on throughout our everyday lives -- wireless devices, cars, automated elevators, climate control systems, traffic signals and washing machines, to name a few. "Some experts estimate that each individual in a developed nation may unknowingly use more than 100 embedded computers daily," Shukla noted. "Embedded computers also constitute the backbone of our complex systems, such as space mission controls, avionics and weapons systems."

Most embedded computers are powered by rechargeable batteries. Because space is limited in their host devices, they typically operate on small, low-power batteries. Shukla's goal is to support the current and future uses of embedded computers by developing a power usage strategy that can guarantee maximum performance. This entails analyzing the complex probabilities of when computers will require power and how much power they will use. >from *Virginia Tech Project Seeks to Balance Power and Performance in Computers of the Future*, january 29, 2003

related context
> (re)distributions: a culture of ubiquity. july 15, 2003

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batteries to power the computer brain

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tuesday :: february 4, 2003
   
 
uniting with only a few random links: small-world networking in simulations

Researchers searching for information about highly complex systems, such as the spread of diseases, the rise and fall of financial markets, or cell-phone communication networks, benefit from large-scale networked computer simulation. These simulations are frequently implemented using large networks of computers that break down the problem into many parts. Tackling weighty problems, bit by byte, allows the simulation process to run faster - sometimes.

The problem comes when the computers have to compare notes, says Gyorgy Korniss, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Korniss' solution is to use 'small-world' networking - which links a computer to its nearest neighbor, and also a few other random computers in the group.

"Our results indicate that only a few random links are necessary for each computer to know how the network as a whole is behaving." Korniss adds. "Many of us know the concept of six degrees of separation in which any one person is only a few acquaintances away from anyone else. The same idea can be applied to complex problem-solving network systems for more effective large-scale model simulations."

Mathematicians Duncan Watts and Steve Strogatz at Cornell University were the first to formulate the significance of small-world networks in natural, artificial, and social systems in 1998. >from *Uniting With Only a Few Random Links: Findings Reported in This Week's Science*, january 30, 2003

related context
>
genes, neurons, internet: organizing principles of networks. november 11, 2002
> think networks: the new science of networks. june 6, 2002
> electronic small world project: how e-mail connects people worldwide. november 29, 2001
> Kevin Bacon shows the way to a much smaller world than we thought, Cornell mathematicians find. "There's a unifying mechanism in nature that makes things small. The harder we look at the world around us, the more we see networks. The traditional approximations of networks -everything is completely ordered or completely random-, cannot in general predict the kinds of properties that we see in small-world networks." june 4, 1998

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dream networks

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monday :: february 3, 2003
   
 
discovered basis for biological clock

The biological clock­ timekeeper for virtually every activity within living things, from sleep patterns to respiration is a single protein, Purdue University researchers report.

D. James and Dorothy Morré have discovered ECTO-NOX protein, which is responsible for setting the length of periods of activity and inactivity within cells. If the protein is altered, an organism's body will experience 'days' of different length. "We can now begin to understand the complex chain of events that connect the clock to events in the body," said James Morré. "Since the clock affects nearly every bodily activity, this discovery holds myriad potential applications, from minimizing jet lag to determining when best to administer cancer drugs." "Now we have an opportunity to tell how organisms tell time," said Dorothy Morré. "This could give us new insights into cellular activity, such as cholesterol synthesis, respiration, heart rhythms, response to drugs, sleep, alertness - there's so much." >from *Purdue researchers discover basis for biological clock*, january 6, 2003

related context
>
circadian clock genes. june 24, 2002
> eye's photoreceptor control biological clock. august 15, 2001

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bioclock activity

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