{"id":22029,"date":"2016-03-26T22:16:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-27T02:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/en\/?p=22029"},"modified":"2016-03-26T22:16:51","modified_gmt":"2016-03-27T02:16:51","slug":"researchers-find-tipping-point-resilience-collapse-complex-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/en\/researchers-find-tipping-point-resilience-collapse-complex-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers find the tipping point between resilience and collapse in complex systems"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Using statistical physics, network scientist Albert-L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Barab\u00e1si and his colleagues have developed the first-ever tool to identify whether systems\u2014be they technological, ecological, or biological\u2014are in danger of failing. Photo by Matthew Moodono, Northeastern University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hon\u00adey\u00adbees have been dying in record num\u00adbers, threat\u00adening the con\u00adtinued pro\u00adduc\u00adtion of nutri\u00adtious foods such as apples, nuts, blue\u00adber\u00adries, broc\u00adcoli, and onions. Without bees to pol\u00adli\u00adnate these crops, the envi\u00adron\u00admental ecosystem\u2014and our health\u2014stands in the bal\u00adance. Have we reached the tip\u00adping point, where the plant-\u200b\u200bpollinator system is due to collapse?<\/p>\n

There was no way to cal\u00adcu\u00adlate that\u2014until now.<\/p>\n

Using sta\u00adtis\u00adtical physics, North\u00adeastern net\u00adwork sci\u00aden\u00adtist Albert-\u200b\u200bL\u00e1szl\u00f3 Barab\u00e1si<\/strong><\/a> and his col\u00adleagues Jianxi Gao and Baruch Barzel have devel\u00adoped a\u00a0tool to iden\u00adtify that tip\u00adping point\u2014for every\u00adthing from eco\u00adlog\u00adical sys\u00adtems such as bees and plants to tech\u00adno\u00adlog\u00adical sys\u00adtems such as power grids. It opens the door to plan\u00adning and imple\u00admenting pre\u00adven\u00adtive mea\u00adsures before it\u2019s too late, as well as preparing for recovery after a disaster.<\/p>\n

The tool, described in a new paper<\/a><\/strong> pub\u00adlished on Wednesday in the pres\u00adti\u00adgious journal Nature<\/em>, fills a long\u00adstanding gap in sci\u00aden\u00adtists\u2019 under\u00adstanding of what deter\u00admines \u201cresilience\u201d\u2014that is, a system\u2019s ability to adjust to dis\u00adtur\u00adbances, both internal and external, in order to remain functional.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The failure of a system can lead to serious con\u00adse\u00adquences, whether to the envi\u00adron\u00adment, economy, human health, or tech\u00adnology,\u201d said Barab\u00e1si, Robert Gray Dodge Pro\u00adfessor of Net\u00adwork Sci\u00adence and Uni\u00adver\u00adsity Dis\u00adtin\u00adguished Pro\u00adfessor in the Depart\u00adment of Physics. <\/strong><\/a>\u201cBut there was no theory that con\u00adsid\u00adered the com\u00adplexity of the net\u00adworks under\u00adlying those systems\u2014that is, their many para\u00adme\u00adters and com\u00adpo\u00adnents. That made it very dif\u00adfi\u00adcult, if not impos\u00adsible, to pre\u00addict the sys\u00adtems\u2019 resilience in the face of dis\u00adtur\u00adbances to those para\u00adme\u00adters and components.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Our tool, for the first time, enables those pre\u00addic\u00adtions,\u201d said Barab\u00e1si, who is also a leader in Northeastern\u2019s Net\u00adwork Sci\u00adence Institute.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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