Enhancing the performance of memetic algorithms by using a matching-based recombination algorithm

The Number Partitioning Problem (MNP) remains as one of the simplest-to-describe yet hardest-to-solve combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper we use the MNP as a surrogate for several related real-world problems, to test new heuristics ideas. To be precise, we study the use of weightmatching techniques to devise smart memetic operators. Several options are considered and evaluated for that purpose. The positive computational results indicate that - despite the MNP may be not the best scenario for exploiting these ideas - the proposed operators can be really promising tools for dealing with more complex problems of the same family

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species