Dynamical strategies for obstacle avoidance during Dictyostelium discoideum aggregation: a Multi-agent system model

Chemotaxis, the movement of an organism in response to chemical stimuli, is a typical feature of many microbiological systems. In particular, the social amoeba \textit{Disctyostelium discoideum} is widely used as a model organism, but it is not still clear how it behaves in heterogeneous environments. A few models focusing on mechanical features have already addressed the question; however, we suggest that phenomenological models focusing on the population dynamics may provide new meaningful data. Consequently, by means of a specific Multi-agent system model, we study the dynamical features emerging from complex social interactions among individuals belonging to amoeba colonies.\\ After defining an appropriate metric to quantitatively estimate the gathering process, we find that: a) obstacles play the role of local topological perturbation, as they alter the flux of chemical signals; b) physical obstacles (blocking the cellular motion and the chemical flux) and purely chemical obstacles (only interfering with chemical flux) elicit similar dynamical behaviors; c) a minimal program for robustly gathering simulated cells does not involve mechanisms for obstacle sensing and avoidance; d) fluctuations of the dynamics concur in preventing multiple stable clusters. Comparing those findings with previous results, we speculate about the fact that chemotactic cells can avoid obstacles by simply following the altered chemical gradient. Social interactions are sufficient to guarantee the aggregation of the whole colony past numerous obstacles

Modeling Life as Cognitive Info-Computation

This article presents a naturalist approach to cognition understood as a network of info-computational, autopoietic processes in living systems. It provides a conceptual framework for the unified view of cognition as evolved from the simplest to the most complex organisms, based on new empirical and theoretical results. It addresses three fundamental questions: what cognition is, how cognition works and what cognition does at different levels of complexity of living organisms. By explicating the info-computational character of cognition, its evolution, agent-dependency and generative mechanisms we can better understand its life-sustaining and life-propagating role. The info-computational approach contributes to rethinking cognition as a process of natural computation in living beings that can be applied for cognitive computation in artificial systems.Comment: Manuscript submitted to Computability in Europe CiE 201

Sensor networks security based on sensitive robots agents. A conceptual model

Multi-agent systems are currently applied to solve complex problems. The security of networks is an eloquent example of a complex and difficult problem. A new model-concept Hybrid Sensitive Robot Metaheuristic for Intrusion Detection is introduced in the current paper. The proposed technique could be used with machine learning based intrusion detection techniques. The new model uses the reaction of virtual sensitive robots to different stigmergic variables in order to keep the tracks of the intruders when securing a sensor network.Comment: 5 page

Social Evolution: New Horizons

Cooperation is a widespread natural phenomenon yet current evolutionary thinking is dominated by the paradigm of selfish competition. Recent advanced in many fronts of Biology and Non-linear Physics are helping to bring cooperation to its proper place. In this contribution, the most important controversies and open research avenues in the field of social evolution are reviewed. It is argued that a novel theory of social evolution must integrate the concepts of the science of Complex Systems with those of the Darwinian tradition. Current gene-centric approaches should be reviewed and com- plemented with evidence from multilevel phenomena (group selection), the constrains given by the non-linear nature of biological dynamical systems and the emergent nature of dissipative phenomena.Comment: 16 pages 5 figures, chapter in forthcoming open access book "Frontiers in Ecology, Evolution and Complexity" CopIt-arXives 2014, Mexic