Swarm-mongering: Brainless blobs flock together

Birds of a feather flock together and now so do brainless, inanimate blobs. Made of microscopic particles, the artificial swarms could shed light on the mysterious mechanisms behind the natural swarming seen in fish and birds. They might also lead to materials with novel properties like self-healing.

Animals such as birds, fish and even humans that move together in swarms have individual intelligence, but Jérémie Palacci of New York University and colleagues wondered whether inanimate objects could also swarm. "From a physicist's point of view, if many different systems behave in the same way there must be an underlying physical rule," he says.

To explore this idea, the team created microscopic plastic spheres, each one with a cubic patch of haematite, an iron oxide, on its surface. When submerged in hydrogen peroxide, the spheres spread out in a disordered fashion. The team then shone blue light on the particles, causing the haematite cubes to catalyse the breakdown of any nearby hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. As hydrogen peroxide concentration dropped temporarily in these regions due to the reaction, osmotic forces cause more hydrogen peroxide to flow into them, and that in turn buffets the spheres. The whole process then repeats.

Self-healing swarm

When two spheres come close enough to each other, the balance of chemical forces shifts so that the two spheres are attracted. If there are enough spheres in the same place they will cluster together to form shapes of symmetrically arranged particles, which the team call crystals (see video, above). These crystals continue to be buffeted by the movement caused by the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide – but now they move together as one object, replicating a life-like swarm. Switch off the light, however, and the reaction stops, causing the crystal to lose the forces that hold it together, and the particle distribution becomes disordered once again.

"This system shows that even though the particles have no social interaction or intelligence, you can exhibit collective behaviour with no biology involved," says Palacci. Since the haematite is magnetic, it is even possible to steer the crystals in one direction by applying a magnetic field. Such control might be useful if the artificial swarms are to be harnessed for applications.

As the particles automatically fill any gaps that form in the crystal, again thanks to the chemical dynamics of the system, they could be used to create a self-assembling, self-healing material. The work is published in the journal Science today.

Schooled by fish

Iain Couzin of Princeton University says these kinds of systems are very useful for studying biological collective behaviour because researchers have complete control over their interactions – unlike natural systems.

His team has its own swarming experiment published in the same issue of Science, based on schools of fish that prefer to stay in shade. Their paper shows that shining a light on some of the fish in the school causes them to speed up, to get away from the light. But as a result, non-illuminated fish also speed up, even though, if acting purely as individuals, they would have had no reason to do so. "We show just by using simple interactions that schools can have a sense of responsiveness to the environment that individuals do not have," he says.

Couzin sees no reason why such behaviour should be limited to natural systems. "In future it may be possible to create systems of particles that can make collective decisions – something we often think of as only possible in biological systems," he says.

Journal references: Living crystals: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1230020; Fish: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1225883

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8 injured in KJE accident

SINGAPORE: An accident at Kranji Expressway (KJE) early Friday morning left eight people injured and triggered massive traffic congestion.

Police said they received a call requesting for assistance at 5.30am.

On arrival, police established there was an accident involving two private buses.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), which also received a call for assistance, said the location of the accident was near KJE's exit leading to Pan Island Expressway towards Tuas.

SCDF said eight people were sent to the National University Hospital (NUH).

Police investigations are ongoing.

The traffic jam on the expressway began to ease before 9am, after the lanes at the accident site were cleared.

- CNA/ir

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14 killed in blast at offices of Mexican state oil company

By CNN Staff

updated 8:28 PM EST, Thu January 31, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: 14 people were killed and at least 100 are injured, interior minister says


• NEW: Mexico's president says he is heading to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts


• Rescuers are searching for people trapped in the building, one of the city's tallest


• Witness: "People were screaming. ... You could see pieces of the wall falling"

Mexico City (CNN) -- An explosion rocked the offices of Mexico's state oil company Thursday, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.

At least 100 people were injured in the Mexico City blast, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told Foro TV.

Dozens of people were trapped in the building after the blast, Foro TV reported.

Osorio Chong said rescuers were searching for survivors in the basement of the office tower, which is one of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

It was unclear what caused the explosion, which occurred in the building's basement, Pemex spokesman Francisco Montano told Notimex.

A large plume of smoke rose near the building after the explosion, and emergency crews swarmed the scene.

"People were screaming. ... You could see pieces of the wall falling to the ground," said Joaquin Borrell Valenzuela, an attorney for the Pemex comptroller's office, who was in a courtyard outside the building at the time of the blast.

Images from the scene showed emergency rescue teams carrying people on stretchers. Authorities said helicopters carried some of the wounded to hospitals.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condolences to victims' families and said in a Twitter post Thursday night that he was heading to the office complex to supervise rescue efforts.

The 54-story office tower is nearly 700 feet tall, was built in 1979 and withstood the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that shook Mexico City in 1985, according to Emporis, a company that tracks building data worldwide.

Officials evacuated the building and operations will cease there until further notice, the company said.

CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet, Rafael Romo, Edwin Mesa, Christine Theodorou, Rey Rodriguez and Rene Hernandez and CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.

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14 dead, 80 injured in Mexico oil company blast

Updated 8:25 PM ET

MEXICO CITY An explosion at the main headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company in the capital killed 14 people and injured 80 on Thursday as it heavily damaged three floors of the building, sending hundreds into the streets and a large plume of smoke over the skyline.

There were also reports that as many as 30 people were trapped in the debris from the explosion, which occurred in the basement of an administrative building next to the iconic, 52-story tower of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

There was no immediate cause given for the blast, which also damaged the first and second floors of the auxiliary building in a busy commercial and residential area. But in an earlier Tweet, Pemex said it had evacuated the building as a precautionary measure because of a problem with the electrical system.

"It was an explosion, a shock, the lights went out and suddenly there was a lot of debris," employee Cristian Obele told Milenio television, adding that he had been injured in the leg. "Co-workers helped us get out of the building."

The tower, where several thousand people work, was evacuated. The main floor and the mezzanine of the auxiliary building, where the explosion occurred, were heavily damaged, along with windows as far as three floors up.

"Right now they're conducting a tour of the building and the area adjacent to the blast site to verify if there are any still trapped so they can be rescued immediately," Interior Ministry spokesman Eduardo Sanchez told Milenio.

A reporter at the scene saw rescue workers trying to free several workers trapped. Television images showed people being evacuated by office chairs, and gurneys. Most of them had injuries likely caused by falling debris.

"We were talking and all of sudden we heard an explosion with white smoke and glass falling from the windows," said Maria Concepcion Andrade, 42, who lives on the block of Pemex building. "People started running from the building covered in dust. A lot of pieces were flying."

Police landed four rescue helicopters to remove the dead or injured. About a dozen tow trucks were furiously moving cars to make more landing room for the helicopters.

Streets surrounding the building were closed as evacuees wandered around, and rescue crews loaded the injured into ambulances.

"I profoundly lament the death of our fellow workers at Pemex. My condolences to their families," President Enrique Pena Nieto said via his Twitter account.

Shortly before the explosion, Operations Director Carlos Murrieta reported via Twitter that the company had reduced its accident rate in recent years. Most Pemex accidents have occurred at pipeline and refinery installations.

A fire at a pipeline metering center in northeast Mexico near the Texas border killed 30 workers in September, the largest-single toll in at least a decade for the company.

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Arias' Ex-Boyfriend Kept Affair Secret

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.

The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexadner took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.

Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.

Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.

"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.

"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.

Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.

Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."

"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.

Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.

In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.

"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"

"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.

"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.

"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."

Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.

Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.

The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.

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Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013

Timbuktu's precious scientific texts must be saved

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Minimum booze price will rein in alcohol abuse

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First real time-travel movies are loopers

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Infrared laptop trackpad ignores accidental touches

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Close call coming: Averting the asteroid threat

With an errant space rock heading this way, just how good are our asteroid defences - and how do we avert the cataclysm?

The right to fight: women at war

The US military has accepted women into combat. What can science tell us about how women deal with being in the line of fire? And are they any different to men?

Earth and others lose status as Goldilocks worlds

Several planets are taking a hit thanks to a redefinition of the habitable zone - the area around a star in which liquid water can theoretically exist

The 10,000-year bender: Why humans love a tipple

Our taste for alcohol results from an evolutionary tussle between humans and yeast - one in which the microbes have often had the upper hand

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Europe will get its money back, says Bank of Greece

BERLIN: Greece will pay back the billions of euros of European aid it has received to fight its debt crisis, the head of the country's central bank told Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

"I understand the concern of European taxpayers," Governor of the Bank of Greece George Provopoulos, said in Thursday's edition of the daily newspaper.

"But I can tell you one thing: this time, the government will get results. The country is transforming itself. The Europeans will get their money back."

"The Greeks, including the politicians, have understood one thing: this time around it's the last chance for Greece," he added.

Provopoulos acknowledged that the application of structural reforms required by the country's international creditors had in the past not been adequate.

"That was a big mistake," he said.

He also conceded that if "tax evasion is a problem in every country, it is particularly prevalent in Greece".

But he insisted that confidence was returning to the country, for while 87 billion euros ($118b) had been withdrawn from Greek bank accounts since 2010, 15 billion euros had been put back in over the past seven months.

The EU and IMF have committed a total of 240 billion euros ($320b) in rescue loans to Greece since 2010. In return they insisted on a tough austerity programme to get the country's finance in order.

So far, however, Greece has failed to deliver, particularly when it has come to cutting the public deficit.

The coalition government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced last week that Greece had narrowed its public deficit to 8.1 per cent in 2012, marking a rare improvement over targets pledged to its EU-IMF creditors.

The hardship caused by the swingeing public sector cuts has caused a wave of sometimes violent protests and strikes.

The harsh economic climate has also seen the rise of the far-right in the country with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn winning 18 seats in the 300-seat parliament in last year's elections.

International human rights groups have warned of a surge in xenophobic attacks on migrants in Greece.

- AFP/ck

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Teen who performed at inaugural events shot dead

By Catherine E. Shoichet and Ted Rowlands, CNN

updated 9:33 PM EST, Wed January 30, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Chicago mayor: "We have a responsibility to see a stop to this"


• Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot dead in Chicago on Tuesday


• Last week she performed in events surrounding President Obama's inauguration


• "Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she's gone," Sen. Dick Durbin says

Chicago (CNN) -- A teen who performed at events around President Barack Obama's inauguration was shot to death in Chicago this week, and now her story has become part of the debate in Washington over gun violence nationwide.

The shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton came up in a U.S. Senate hearing and a White House press briefing Wednesday.

"She was an honor student and a majorette," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. Performing at inaugural events last week "was the highlight of her young, 15-year-old life," he said.

Speaking at Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, Durbin mentioned Pendleton's death as he argued that more must be done to stop gun crimes.

Giffords: 'Too many children dying'

"Yesterday, in a rainstorm after school, she raced to a shelter. A gunman came in and shot her dead," he said. "Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she's gone."

The park shelter where she was shot is just a mile from Obama's home in Chicago.

White House spokesman Jay Carney described her death as a "terrible tragedy."

"The president has more than once, when he talks about gun violence in America, referred not just to the horror of Newtown or Aurora or Virginia Tech or Oak Creek but to shootings on the corner in Chicago or other parts of the country," Carney told reporters. "And this is just another example of the problem we need to deal with."

2013 has gotten off to a deadly start in Chicago -- Pendleton was the year's 42nd murder victim. No arrests have been made in the case, police said Wednesday.

In 2012, 506 people were slain in the city.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel described Pendleton Wednesday as "what's best in our city, a child going to school who takes a final exam, who had just been to the inaugural."

"We have a responsibility to see a stop to this," he said. "And all of us are responsible."

Pendleton was shot just blocks away from her high school on the south side of Chicago, CNN affiliate WGN reported.

LaPierre, the NRA's heavyweight

Police told CNN affiliates that the teenager had no gang affiliation and likely was not the intended target.

"There has to be an end to it. It's just too much. The children cannot go to school. They're in fear," Bonita O'Bannion, who lives in the area where the shooting occurred, told CNN affiliate WBBM.

Carney said the president and first lady's thoughts and prayers are with Pendleton's family.

"And as the president said, we will never be able to eradicate every act of evil in this country," Carney said, "but if we can save even one child's life, we have an obligation to try when it comes to the scourge of gun violence."

How the violent mentally ill can buy guns

CNN's Ted Rowlands reported from Chicago. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet wrote the story in Atlanta. CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report from Washington.

Part of complete coverage on

updated 2:46 PM EST, Wed January 30, 2013

The federal background check system for gun buyers didn't stop a mentally ill man from buying a gun, which he used to kill his mother.

updated 9:15 PM EST, Wed January 30, 2013

Rather than focusing on gun restrictions, the NRA is promoting a focus on fixing the nation's mental health system.

updated 1:28 PM EST, Wed January 30, 2013

Wayne LaPierre is not a large man. Yet, in Washington, he can make even brave politicians toss in the towel at the first sign of a scuffle.

updated 12:17 PM EST, Tue January 29, 2013

More than 6,000 people are killed each year by handguns. That's like having a massacre on the scale of Newtown 239 times during one year.

updated 3:18 PM EST, Sat January 26, 2013

On one side were pegboard panels mounted with various assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons -- including a Bushmaster similar to the one used in last month's Newtown school massacre.

updated 2:48 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

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updated 2:50 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

President Barack Obama proposed a package of measures intended to reduce gun violence in the wake of the Newtown school massacre last month. But would they work?

updated 3:41 PM EST, Sat January 26, 2013

Proponents of gun control hold a March in Washington, while small number opponents gather to express their views.

updated 7:11 AM EST, Wed January 16, 2013

A month after the deadly school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, the National Rifle Association is taking heat for releasing a mobile video game that lets players learn how to shoot at targets.

updated 7:49 AM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

Gens. Michael Hayden (Ret.) and Stanley McChrystal (Ret.) weigh in on America's gun debate.

updated 3:00 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

The "universal background checks" now being pushed by some gun control supporters is code for closing loopholes on such checks at gun shows and other private sales.

updated 3:01 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

Two couples rooted in the American mainstream. Two spouses who were nearly killed by mentally ill gunmen.

updated 3:02 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013

Mass shootings in 2012 reignited the debate over legislation to combat gun violence. Here's a look at laws already on the books in the United States dealing with firearms.

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Obama: "No doubt" Congress will pass immigration, gun bills

Play Video

Obama: "No doubt" gun, immigration bills will pass in coming months

There's more bipartisan support in Congress for comprehensive immigration reform than gun control legislation, President Obama said tonight during an interview with Univision, but qualified that even under his proposal, illegal immigrants shouldn't be harboring expectations that they'll be granted citizenship "manana."

"Even under our proposal, this is not a situation where overnight, suddenly people all find themselves as citizens," Mr. Obama told the Spanish-language television network. "They're going to have to go to the back of the line. We're going to have to clear out the existing line, backlogs we have in terms of illegal immigrants, because they did it the right way. We shouldn't punish them for breaking the law.

"...What we don't want to do is to create some vague prospect in the future that somehow comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship will happen manana," he continued, chuckling softly at the somewhat awkward injection of the Spanish word for "tomorrow." "But we have to put that in place at the outset, and make sure people are clear that this pathway is real and not just a fantasy for the future."

Asked whether he was in a standoff with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the son of Cuban immigrants who has said he will not support a bill that does not put border control ahead of a path to citizenship, Mr. Obama said no, but pointed out that the number of people crossing the border illegally has dropped "about 80 percent since 2000."

On Tuesday, the president delivered a speech in Las Vegas outlining his immigration plan and applauding a bipartisan group of eight senators that has offered up proposals as well. In an interview today with another Spanish language network, Telemundo, he specified that he's hoping immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship can be passed in the next six months, but "certainly this year."

Meanwhile, despite facing more resistance from the right on tightening gun laws, he said he has "no doubt" that Congress will be able to put through legislation on gun control, as well as immigration.

Play Video

Obama: Legalization for illegal immigrants won't happen "ma?ana"

"On the gun issue, you're starting to see gun owners, people who traditionally have opposed gun control, saying, 'You know what, when 20 of our children are shot by somebody who is disturbed, and when it is that easy to get these high-clip magazines that can fire off hundreds of shots in a few minutes, then it's time for us to do better job on background checks, to get control of these magazine clips, to really crack down on gun trafficking," Mr. Obama said in the Univision interview.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today held the first congressional hearing on gun violence since last month's massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, that left 20 children and six adults dead. Star witnesses included former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived a shot to the head two years ago during an assassination attempt that left six people dead, and her husband on one side, and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre on the other.

Both gun control and immigration "will end up generating some opposition," the president said. "There will be passions on both sides. But I'm generally encouraged that the Senate seems to be having a serious conversation about these issues."

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Arias Trial Shocked by Slashed Throat Photo

The courtroom at the Jodi Arias murder trial was shocked -- and Arias began sobbing -- when the prosecutor stunned them by suddenly flashing a photograph of Arias' ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander with his throat slashed open.

Alexander's sisters and friends burst into tears and one ran out of the courtroom when prosecutor Juan Martinez held up the grisly picture of Alexander with his throat slashed and bloodied.

Arias, who is on trial for allegedly murdering Alexander, sobbed uncontrollably at the sight of the photo. She is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times, slashing his throat, and shooting him twice in the head in a bout of jealousy. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

In the moments before the incident, Martinez was questioning Lisa Daidone, who dated Alexander in 2007 after Alexander's break up with Arias but while he and Arias continued to sleep together. The defense had gone painstakingly through an angry email Daidone had sent Alexander to break up with him, after she found out he was cheating on her with Arias.

"Do you think that even with everything they claimed he put you through, do you think it is appropriate to take a knife and slash somebody's throat?" Martinez yelled.

"Is this what a normal relationship looks like to you?" Martinez shouted as he held up the picture amid shouts of "objection" from the defense and gasps from onlookers.

Judge Sherry Stephens called for a recess, and when the court returned the judge warned the audience to keep their reactions to testimony silent.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense Begins Case Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Reported Plea Deal Attempt Watch Video

The outburst came at the end of an intense line of questioning from Martinez as he asked Daidone to explain that Alexander treated her well during their relationship, attempting to disprove the defense's accusations that Alexander was a sex-obsessed, aggressive cheater.

Daidone had testified under questioning by Arias' lawyers that she broke off her relationship with Alexander several times partly out of her suspicions that he was cheating on her, although he had asked her to marry him.

As Mormons they refrained from sex before marriage and she was surprised to find out after Alexander's death that he was not a virgin. Another witness, Desiree Freeman, told the court that Alexander claimed to be a virgin. "He made jokes about it" and seemed proud of the fact, Freeman testified.

The defense cited Daidone's breakup email listing her complaints about Alexander in their effort to portray Alexander as an aggressive philanderer.

"Did you tell him that you felt he wanted you just for your body, that kissing didn't mean anything to him and was just a way for him to let out sexual tension? And that it made you feel used and dirty?" defense attorney Jennifer Willmott asked Daidone.

Daidone said yes, and that she "had felt that way then."

But the prosecutor grilled Daidone about that email, drawing a picture of a more reserved and sexually restrained Alexander.

"You were asked about that email," Martinez said, "and one of the things you talked about, isn't it true that Mr. Alexander wouldn't kiss you at the start of the relationship? You were the person who initiated contact? He was the person holding it up, right? He was holding up your religious beliefs?" Martinez asked.

Daidone agreed.

"He was doing everything he could to conform to what you wanted, wasn't he? Not other way around," Martinez said.

Daidone said that when she sent the angry email to Alexander, criticizing him for thinking about sex and talking about sex, that she was "inexperienced" and "immature," and she later came to regret saying those things to him.

Daidone said that Alexander always kept in close contact with Arias, texting and calling her often. She was suspicious that he was cheating on her, but did not know they were involved sexually.

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