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complexity

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nonlinear dynamics

New Proof Finds the ‘Ultimate Instability’ in a Solar System Model

By Jordana Cepelewicz
May 16, 2023
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For the first time, mathematicians have proved that planetary orbits in a solar system will always be unstable.

Legos coming together to make a person.
origins of life

A New Idea for How to Assemble Life

By Philip Ball
May 4, 2023
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If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must account for the entire history of how such entities came to be.

Nobel Prize

Work on Earth’s Climate and Other Complex Systems Earns Nobel Prize in Physics

By Natalie Wolchover
October 5, 2021
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Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann have been honored for their work that led to reliable predictions of the effects of climate change. They will share the Nobel with Giorgio Parisi, who has made pioneering studies of chaotic physical systems.

2020 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 23, 2020
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While the study of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was the most urgent priority, biologists also learned more about how brains process information, how to define individuality and why sleep deprivation kills.

Computer scientist and complexity researcher Carlos Gershenson of the National Autonomous University of Mexico stands by a busy urban roadway.
Q&A

Complexity Scientist Beats Traffic Jams Through Adaptation

By Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
September 28, 2020
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To tame urban traffic, the computer scientist Carlos Gershenson finds that letting transportation systems adapt and self-organize often works better than trying to predict and control them.

Art for "Rapid Oxygen Changes Fueled an Explosion in Ancient Animal Diversity"
Abstractions blog

Rapid Oxygen Changes Fueled an Explosion in Ancient Animal Diversity

By Jonathan Lambert
May 9, 2019
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Skyrocketing animal diversity a half-billion years ago was linked to spikes and dips in marine oxygen levels, according to a detailed geological study.

Abstractions blog

Smarter Parts Make Collective Systems Too Stubborn

By Jordana Cepelewicz
February 26, 2019
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As researchers delve deeper into the behavior of decentralized collective systems, they’re beginning to question some of their initial assumptions.

Abstractions blog

Jellyfish Genome Hints That Complexity Isn’t Genetically Complex

By Jonathan Lambert
January 8, 2019
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Jellyfish didn’t need novel genes to take an evolutionary leap in complexity.

In Theory

How Complex Wholes Emerge From Simple Parts

By John Rennie
December 20, 2018
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Throughout nature, throngs of relatively simple elements can self-organize into behaviors that seem unexpectedly complex. Scientists are beginning to understand why and how these phenomena emerge without a central organizing entity.


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