E-Mail
(Vienna, March 17, 2021) When complex systems double in size, many of their parts do not. Characteristically, some aspects will grow by only about 80 percent, others by about 120 percent. The astonishing uniformity of these two growth rates is known as scaling laws. Scaling laws are observed everywhere in the world, from biology to physical systems. They also apply to cities. Yet, while a multitude of examples show their presence, reasons for their emergence are still a matter of debate.
A new publication in the
Journal of The Royal Society Interface now provides a simple explanation for urban scaling laws: Carlos Molinero and Stefan Thurner of the
E-Mail
IMAGE: Georgia Tech researchers use a graphical model framework to uncover a better way to identify cells and understand neural activities in the brain. view more
Credit: Christopher Moore, Georgia Tech
In researching the causes and potential treatments for degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer s or Parkinson s disease, neuroscientists frequently struggle to accurately identify cells needed to understand brain activity that gives rise to behavior changes such as declining memory or impaired balance and tremors.
A multidisciplinary team of Georgia Institute of Technology neuroscience researchers, borrowing from existing tools such as graphical models, have uncovered a better way to identify cells and understand the mechanisms of the diseases, potentially leading to better understanding, diagnosis, and treatment.
E-Mail
Increased global temperatures help invasive species establish themselves in ecosystems, new research led by a Swansea University bioscientist has shown.
The study, published by the Royal Society, gives an insight into the probable combined effects of species invasions, which are becoming more common, and global warming.
Climate warming and biological invasions result in the loss of species. They also alter the structure of ecosystems and the ways in which species interact.
While there is already extensive research on how climate change and invasions affect species and ecosystems, we know surprisingly little about their combined effect, acting together in synergy.
E-Mail
Many bacteria swim towards nutrients by rotating the helix-shaped flagella attached to their bodies. As they move, the cells can either run in a straight line, or tumble by varying the rotational directions of their flagella, causing their paths to randomly change course. Through a process named chemotaxis, bacteria can decrease their rate of tumbling at higher concentrations of nutrients, while maintaining their swimming speeds. In more hospitable environments like the gut, this helps them to seek out nutrients more easily. However, in more nutrient-sparse environments, some species of bacteria will also perform chemokinesis : increasing their swim speeds as nutrient concentrations increase, without changing their tumbling rates. Through new research published in