Which came first, the moth or the cactus?
...tic interactions. "I develop theoretical models, equations that attempt to explain mutualistic relationships like the one between the moth and the cactus, and I take those models into the field and examine them empirically to find out how well they predict what really happens," Holland said. Traditional th...Computer graphics spills from milk to medicine
...r model being presented at SIGGRAPH 2007 came from equations that physicists studying coated soot particles derived to deal with shortcomings in the Lorenz-Mie theory. Jensen and the students from Denmark also called upon their mother tongue, Danish, to pick apart a little-known paper published in 1890 in Denm...Study provides new data about the laws governing embryo development in organisms
...tic and cell interactions as a set of mathematical equations and, therefore, to determine the feasibility of a biological mechanism. In order to study the stability of the system they conducted around 45,000 different in silico experiments, introducing variations in twenty parameters. The results have enabled ...Pendulum love, science class gender gaps, musical mind mirrors, and unparticle physics
...ith a virtual version that moved under time-tested equations of motion. To get the two pendulums to communicate, the physicists fed data about the real pendulum to the virtual one, and transferred information from the virtual pendulum to a motor that influenced the motion of the real pendulum. The real and...In a first, scientists develop tiny implantable biocomputers
... biocomputers for you." Evaluating Boolean logic equations inside cells, these molecular automata will detect anything from the presence of a mutated gene to the activity of genes within the cell. The biocomputers' "input" is RNA, proteins, and chemicals found in the cytoplasm; "output" molecules indicating ...Dinosaur hearing, listening to muscle noise, quieter cubicles
...ch as sound meters, microphones, and reverberation equations brought about a new level of clarity and similarity in the acoustical environments of disparate locations from Boston concert halls to New York skyscrapers and Hollywood sound stages. Princeton's Emily Thompson ( emilyt@princeton.edu ), a technology...Simple equations track Listeria trails
... reproduces all these shapes with just one pair of equations and only two key variables. Besides helping to identify bacterial mutants, the equations suggest which mechanisms could be driving the motion. Last winter, Vivek Shenoy, an associate prof...Healthy coastal wetlands would adapt to rising oceans
...olumbia marshlands, uses computerized mathematical equations to help researchers evaluate the evolution of marsh shapes and complex ecosystems. Other research teams have devised similar computer exercises, but Murray said Duke's version emphasizes how biology influences and interacts with physical erosion pr...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2007
... higher than what has been suggested by the linear equations typically employed, according to the paper whose l...gregate rainfall. Ganguly noted that the nonlinear equations developed for this work are far more representative of real-world conditions and hopes these finding...Physicists reveal water's secrets in journal Science
...r computers enabled very accurate solutions of the equations of quantum mechanics describing the forces that water molecules exert on each other," Szalewicz said. "Once these forces are known, one can find motions in an ensemble of water molecules and predict all the properties of liquid water." The UD resea...Scientists find method to pick noncompetitive animals, improve production
... the Netherlands and England designed mathematical equations based on traits to choose animals that are more congenial in groups, said William Muir, a Purdue Department of Animal Sciences geneticist. The new method is a tool that may contribute both to animal well-being and to securing the world's future food ...Virginia Tech's System X supercomputer provides super tool for simulation of cell division
... numerical values of the ‘parameters’ in the model equations in order to create an accurate representation of what is going on inside the cell. A simple example is the conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures, said mathematician Layne Watson. "You could use several pairs of Fahrenheit and Celsius...Duke geologist's book assails unrealistic mathematical models
DURHAM, N.C. -- Using equations to forecast the specific behavior of complex natural processes such as beach erosion and long-term nuclear waste storage creates a false sense of security, according to a new book by a retired Duke University geologist and his geologist daughter. I...Rotting leaf litter study could lead to more accurate climate models
...University to produce an elegant and simple set of equations to calculate the nitrogen released into the soil d...he remaining mass of the leaf and root litter. The equations and how the researchers developed them are described in the Jan. 19 issue of the journal Science. "...Study: Living coral reefs provide better protection from tsunami waves
...these obstacles. Eventually, Kunkel found a set of equations that provided a limited but comprehensive picture of a tsunami strike. "We had to idealize a number of factors, because we wanted to create a model that could be used for a general shoreline," Kunkel said. "For example, we had to consider a perfect...Proteins anchor memories in our brain
...hematical "model" a simulation that used calculus equations to describe the movement of AMPA receptors in and out of the synapse. The mathematical simulation was based on the notion that the downstream part of a synapse namely, the mushroom-shaped dendritic spine has two compartments. The first compartme...Researchers determine why wolves not dispersing as fast as expected in Yellowstone
...would have thought that you could use mathematical equations to understand the behavior of wolves," Lewis said. "But that's what you can do in the field of mathematical biology. It's a newer field, but it's expanding rapidly."...Using chemistry to predict the dynamics of clotting in human blood
..." Kastrup said. "Instead of looking at hundreds of equations for blood clotting, we reduced it down to three main equations. From these equations we were able to describe a lot of the dynamics of clotting." The ability of microfluidics to mimic ...Spread of plant diseases by insects can be described by equations that model interplanetary gravity
... spread of diseases by insects can be described by equations similar to those that describe the force of gravity between planetary objects. Their findings are detailed in the September issue of The American Naturalist. Insects tend to transmit diseases in the course of feeding on plants, and their movement be......money in Switzerland to solve partial differential equations using a combination of numerical analysis, mathematical modelling, and computational methods. Applications might include the simulation of plasma flows for industry or magnetohydrodynamical simulations. ...