What is the ontological status of Artificial Life systems? This question admits two interpretations. The first asks whether and to what degree Artificial Life systems could potentially be considered ‘alive’ in the sense that we take naturally occuring biological systems to be. The second has to do with what sort of role Artificial Life systems occupy in scientific inquiry. In this paper, we inv...

The announcement of the complete DNA sequencing (Editorial 2005) has raised three orders of questions, which are already b in this forum: a) what makes us humans? Can the distance great apes be so reduced to cancel the peculiar status of Ho event another demonstration of scientific reductionism? c) I anthropology in danger because of the genocentric attitude of The analysis of the relevant scie...

Science is critical to the progress of humanity through its unveiling of the intricate processes that co-mingle in different aspects of life. Particularly, the next generation of citizens will carry a burden of scientific uncertainties that will require the breaking of new frontiers, discovery and invention for the very survival of humanity. Discrimination based on economic, social and racial s...

Scientific research provides substantial evidence that there is no genetic or biological basis for our social understanding of race. The confounding social and biological uses of race complicate its use in scientific and biolomedical research; thereby, prompting this discussion of how research informs the concept of race. Recommendations for the use of race in scientific study are provided. Sci...

The Institute of Food Technologists has issued this Scientific Status Summary to provide readers with a tutorial on biofilms, their purposeful mechanism of interaction (quorum sensing), and recent findings on how to inhibit their formation.

Astro-WISE is a scientific information system for the data processing of optical images. In this paper we review main features of Astro-WISE and describe the current status of the system.

This paper gives an overview of the scientific goals of IceCube with an emphasis on the importance of atmospheric neutrinos. Status and schedule for completing the detector are presented.

Free-electron lasers as scientific instruments are reviewed. The present status and future prospects are delineated with attention drawn to the size, complexity, availability, and performance capability of this new tool.