SFI Colloquium

Troy Day, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Mathematical Biology, Queens University will present “Computability, Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem, and an Inherent Limit on the Predictability of Evolution” at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct 9 in the Noyce Conference Room at the Santa Fe Institute.

Abstract: I will briefly review a main way in which mathematical modeling has been used to understand and predict evolutionary change.

I will then highlight an important shortcoming of such approaches and consider an alternative that attempts to overcome the problem. Read More

From left, Los Alamos scientists Joel Berendzen, Ben McMahon, Mira Dimitrijevic, Nick Hengartner and Judith Cohn. Courtesy LANL

LANL News:

• Bioinformatics breakthrough has clinical & environmental applications

New software from Los Alamos National Laboratory called Sequedex uses evolutionary theory to swiftly identify short “reads” of DNA, calling out the specific organisms from which the DNA came and their likely activity.

“Sequedex makes it possible for a researcher to analyze data hot off a DNA sequencer using a laptop,” said Joel Berendzen, a scientist on the project. “The Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory set a record for transuranic waste shipments from the Laboratory to permanent disposal facilities, sending nearly 60 more shipments than originally planned. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

• Volume, Number of Shipments Surpass Goals

In the first year of an effort to accelerate shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Los Alamos National Laboratory shattered its own record with 59 more shipments than planned, and became one of the largest shippers of this type of nuclear waste in the country.

“Our goal this fiscal year was to send Read More

NNSA’s Kevin Smith, Manager of the Los Alamos Site Office. Courtesy photo

NNSA News:

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Site Office has awarded the State of New Mexico $100,000 in funding for the Regional Coalition of Los Alamos National Laboratory Communities to help address environmental and other related issues at LANL that affect the Regional Coalition’s members.

Under the grant funding, one of the key roles of the Regional Coalition will be to understand and help address the various issues regarding the cleanup and long-term management Read More

An image taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on July 24, 2011, shows troughs along the equator of the asteroid Vesta, including Divalia Fossa, which is larger than the Grand Canyon. A new study analyzing these troughs finds that they are probably graben – a dip in the surface with faults on either side that would indicate that Vesta has characteristics much like a planet or large moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

AGU News:

WASHINGTON—Enormous troughs that reach across the asteroid Vesta may actually be stretch marks that hint of a complexity beyond most asteroids.

Scientists Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan addresses attendants at the R&D 100 Awards Recognition Ceremony held Wednesday evening at the Hilltop House Hotel on Trinity Drive. Photo by Salvador Zapien/ladailypost.com

Staff report

Technology innovations at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been recognized with four of R&D Magazine’s 2012 “R&D 100” awards. These awards honor the top 100 proven technological advances of the year, as selected by a group of R&D Magazine’s chosen judges.

“Congratulations to this year’s R&D Read More