PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Understanding behavioral patterns: Why bird flocks move in unison

2010-09-15
(Press-News.org) Animal flocks, be it honeybees, fish, ants or birds, often move in surprising synchronicity and seemingly make unanimous decisions at a moment's notice, a phenomenon which has remained puzzling to many researchers.

New research published today, Wednesday 15 September, in New Journal of Physics (co-owned by the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society), uses a particle model to explain the collective decision making process of flocks of birds landing on foraging flights.

Using a simple self-propelled particle (SPP) system, which sees the birds represented by particles with such parameters as position and velocity, the researchers from Budapest, Hungary, find that the collective switching from the flying to the landing state overrides the individual landing intentions of each bird.

In the absence of a decision making leader, the collective shift to land is heavily influenced by perturbations the individual birds are subject to, such as the birds' flying position within the flock. This can be compared to an avalanche of piled up sand, which would occur even for perfectly symmetric and cautiously placed grains, but in reality happens much sooner because of increasing, non-linear fluctuations.

As the researchers explain, "Our main motivation was to better understand something which is puzzling and out there in nature, especially in cases involving the stopping or starting of a collective behavioural pattern in a group of people or animals.

"We propose a simple model for a system whose members have the tendency to follow the others both in space and in their state of mind concerning a decision about stopping an activity. This is a very general model, which can be applied to similar situations."

Possible applications include collectively flying, unmanned aerial vehicles, initiating a desired motion pattern in crowds or groups of animals and even finance, where the results could be used to interpret collective effects on selling or buying shares on the stock market.

INFORMATION: The researchers' paper can be downloaded from Wednesday, 15 September 2010 here: http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/12/9/093019/fulltext


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Urgent need for prostate cancer screening amongst Dutch men

2010-09-15
Arnhem, 15 September 2010 – A recent TNS NIPO survey, on behalf of the Dutch Association of Urology (NVU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU), showed that almost four out of 10 Dutch men of 50 years and older suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints. The same number of men also said in the same survey they are worried that they may have prostate cancer. The TNS NIPO survey also indicated that a significantly larger number of men that suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints expressed the concern of having prostate cancer as compared to men ...

Successful periodontal therapy may reduce the risk of preterm birth, according to Penn dental study

2010-09-15
PHILADELPHIA –- A collaboration led by a periodontal researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found a possible link between the success of gum-disease treatment and the likelihood of giving birth prematurely, according to a study published in the journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. While a number of factors are associated with an increased rate of preterm birth, such as low body-mass index, alcohol consumption and smoking, the study adds to the body of research that suggests oral infection may also ...

Jennifer McGrath Receives the Endorsement of Huntington Beach Police Officers and Huntington Beach Firefighters

2010-09-15
Jennifer McGrath received key public safety endorsements in her campaign for re-election as Huntington Beach City Attorney. The Huntington Beach Police Officers Association and the Huntington Beach Firefighters Association have both officially endorsed Jennifer McGrath as the right choice for Huntington Beach City Attorney. "I am honored to receive the endorsement of our local firefighters and police. I applaud the efforts of our police and firefighters in ensuring our community is a better and safer place to live," said Jennifer McGrath. "I have been the City Attorney ...

Lizellen La Follette, MD, OB-GYN Practice, Expands Services to Women

2010-09-15
Lizellen La Follette, MD, has announced that her obstetrics and gynecology medical practice will heighten its patient services through the addition of an associate, Emily E. Binkley, MD. The La Follette practice provides healthcare to women of all ages. Dr. Binkley graduated from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a BA in Earth and Planetary Sciences. A John Harvard Scholar for maintaining an A average, Dr. Binkley studied medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her residency at Pennsylvania Hospital ...

Greg Hoffman Consulting Adopts eSilverBullet Platform for Affiliate Management

2010-09-15
Greg Hoffman, owner of GHC, signed up for eSilverBullet when he discovered it on the popular affiliate forum A Best Web. "I like how eSilverBullet will allow me to leverage all of my affiliate relationships on one platform," he said. "We work with a very diverse list of merchants in the major affiliate networks and I can see this tool as the perfect solution on how to manage the recruiting process." eSilverBullet makes it easier for Outsourced Program Managers (OPMs) such as GHC to tailor communications on behalf of specific merchants. All prospect and publisher contact ...

Famed entrepreneur Sramana Mitra joins Blog Talk Radio host Kim Kelly on the My Crew Magazine Show September 16, 2010, at 7 pm. Pacific

2010-09-15
Famed global business strategist Sramana Mitra will appear on BlogTalkRadio's My Crew Magazine's (http://blogtalkradio.com/My-Crew-Magazine) Funding Your Startup Business in a Slow Economy Show with host Kim Kelly, Editor-In-Chief of My Crew Magazine on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at 7 pm, Pacific, and 10 pm Eastern. The exclusive interview will highlight Mitra's career in starting three successful business ventures and her new book, Innovation Need Of The Hour (EJ Volume Four). As strategy consultant, Sramana has consulted with over 80 companies, including public ...

Do You Have Private Equity DNA? Find Out at September Experts Connection Teleseminar

2010-09-15
Even in troubled financial times, there is an allure about working in the field of private equity. Many executives dream of finding a private equity portfolio firm that allows them to work in an unconventional setting and earn bigger salaries. In the next session of Experts Connection (www.experts-conneciton.com), Mary Kier, CEO of Cook Associates Executive Search, will review what it takes to be hired by private equity firms in a session entitled "The Private Equity DNA - Do You Have What It Takes?" The teleseminar is scheduled for Wednesday, September 22, from 4:00 - ...

One and Only event to showcase "REAL" Japan coming back to Orange County even bigger with more excitement

2010-09-15
O .C. Japan Fair, a street festival introducing contemporary and traditional Japanese culture, is coming back for the second time to Orange County on Sunday, September 26th, 2010, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., at the Great Irvine Park in Irvine. The festival celebrated its inaugural event last November with over 50 booths and more than 10,000 attendees. This year's festival will be even bigger, with double the amount of participating vendors (over 100 booths) and with more attendees coming to experience all the fun, food and entertainment. The main theme of this year's fair is "Irvine ...

Foxit and Seclore partner to bring Information Rights Management (IRM) to PDF solutions

2010-09-15
Foxit Corporation, a leader in PDF software solutions and Seclore, an Information Rights Management (IRM) provider today announced that they have entered into a new partnership to offer Foxit¡¯s PDF viewing technology as part of Seclore¡¯s security solution. "Foxit continues to expand its PDF technology within the enterprise market segment. Enterprise customers using the Seclore document management system now have the ability to use the Foxit Reader which is small, faster and less bloated PDF viewer offering superior security and usability." said Alex Alexander, Assistant ...

Open Source Groupware Comes to Japan

2010-09-15
Open-Xchange, provider of business-class open source collaboration software, announced today an exclusive distribution agreement with Next IT for hosted and on-premises Open-Xchange products in Japan. Next IT will expand its portfolio with Open-Xchange by offering customers either: Open-Xchange Hosting Edition to web-hosting companies, ISPs, telecommunication companies and IT service companies; or an on-premises version to be installed and run on the enterprises', educational institutions' and government authorities' own computers. "We see fast-growing demand for ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] Understanding behavioral patterns: Why bird flocks move in unison