Animal Instincts

Using animal instincts to design efficient biomedical studies via particle swarm optimization

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an increasingly popular metaheuristic algorithm for solving complex optimization problems. Its popularity is due to its repeated successes in finding an optimum or a near optimal solution for problems in many applied disciplines. The algorithm makes no assumption of the function to be optimized and for biomedical experiments like those presented here, PSO ty...

Moral Disgust and The Tribal Instincts Hypothesis

Last changes: 11/15/10 Word Count: 6776 (main text); 9803 (total w/ footnotes)

Public Policy, Human Instincts, and Economic Growth

Metabolism: What Causes the Gut's Circadian Instincts?

What mechanisms control circadian rhythms in the gastrointestinal tract and how does this impact nutrient metabolism? The deadenylase and leucine zipper protein Nocturnin is now shown to play a central role.

Are Instincts Hardened Routines? A Radical Proposal

Routines and instincts are similar in terms of function and structure: 1) With respect to function, they economize on scarce decision-making resources, such as cognitive faculties, by making actions, within limits, inflexible vis-à-vis fluctuating environmental stimuli. As inflexible patterns, they are units that can be transferred via inheritance or social learning. 2) With respect to structur...