“Viewing fossils in color could reveal how the animals dressed up for courtship, for example, while finding camouflage patterns could cast new light on the environments the animals roamed in” - via Slashdot.
In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, linguists observed an artificial language evolve from random to ordered, naturally adapting in ways that assured its reproduction. via digg.com
Introduction to Complexity Machine 1 on Vimeo. ”The software simulates the behavior of groups of agents and renders a variety three dimensional form with the resultant geometry. This video explains the concepts behind the project, some of its results, and some possible future directions.” Via Processing Blogs.
“By coding computer simulations with biologically modeled nervous systems, Torsten Reil [ex-EASy MSc] and his company NaturalMotion breathe life into the animated characters inhabiting the most eye-poppingly realistic games and movies around.” “See his work now in GTA4.” Via Machines Like Us.
“Today we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first public announcement of what Richard Dawkins has called ‘…the most momentous idea ever to occur to a human mind.’ He was of course referring to the theory of natural selection, the primary mechanism driving the evolution of life on our planet” - via Pharyngula.
According to Tegmark, “there is only mathematics; that is all that exists.” In his theory, the mathematical universe hypothesis, he updates quantum physics and cosmology with the concept of many parallel universes inhabiting multiple levels of space and time. By posing his hypothesis at the crossroads of philosophy and physics, Tegmark is harking back to the ancient Greeks with the oldest of the old questions: What is real? - via Digg.com
The latest and greatest in killer cat/robot-hybrid technology. My favourite is BioBot.
(@hackaday.com)
“The RepRap project is working towards creating a universal constructor by using rapid prototyping…”(via open…)
“While most ocean robots require periodic communication with scientist or satellite intermediaries to share information, these can work cooperatively communicating only with each other.”@sciencedaily.com
